


An Unexpected Reunion

by hedgehoggery



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Basketball, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, M/M, Slow Burn, rating for potential future chapters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-07
Updated: 2018-07-11
Packaged: 2019-05-19 08:42:59
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Underage
Chapters: 9
Words: 22,565
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14870514
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hedgehoggery/pseuds/hedgehoggery
Summary: Tree nursery-owner Yamato and GATE-tutor Kakashi have a complicated past. But now they've been thrust together again, and they can't deny they still love each other.Updates every Wednesday





	1. Chapter 1

Yamato looked around his shop and smiled. All the saplings were lined up in neat rows by type: fruit trees, flowering trees, shade trees, and more, and the mingling scents created an immense sense of calm that Yamato felt he’d never before experienced.

He sighed, content. The smell of the trees was the only real home he’d ever known. Growing up in the foster system had been tough on little Yamato, but the brief escapes he had to the city parks and, once, the forest a few hours outside the city, had held his fracturing psyche together. Now, finally an adult, Yamato was free from the legal bounds of the foster system and had poured every last penny of his life savings into opening this, his very own Tree Nursery.

Everyone who knew him had said it was a stupid move - an 18-year-old couldn’t possibly hope to build a successful business for the ground up, not to mention a tree nursery in the middle of the city! But with each passing month that Yamato didn’t fail, his doubters became quieter and quieter until they had finally stopped altogether. They hadn’t quite reached the point yet where they changed their tune into one of support, but Yamato figured the silence was the only acceptance he needed.

_Jingle jingle_.

The door to the shop opened and an elderly couple walked in. Yamato walked around the counter to greet them.

“Good morning!” He smiled warmly at them. “How can I help you?”

“Good morning, young man,” the wife began. “Our neighbors recently decorated their balcony with fruit trees and it looks stunning! I never knew trees could thrive in a potted environment, and I’m quite envious of the aesthetic the live plants bring to their apartment. They told us they bought their trees here.” Yamato could hardly believe his ears.  _A recommendation from a satisfied customer!!_  He felt the urge to jump around the shop and dance wildly, but forced it down.  

“Yes, ma’am, I have several options for your potted fruit trees. Come with me and I’ll show you.” He guided the couple towards the lime trees he had sold the previous customer and, after very minimal convincing, sold them three trees.

“Thank you for your business!” He called out to them as they left. He heard the wife murmur something about a “nice young man” to her husband as the door shut behind them and smiled. Success felt closer with every happy customer.

____

“Hey, pay attention when I’m talking to you, Naruto!”

The orange jumpsuit-clad teen jumped, dropping the pencil he had been attempting to balance on his upper lip. Kakashi stared at him with his most menacing expression.

“Ehh, sorry Mr. Kakashi,” Naruto said. Kakashi sighed and shook his head before addressing all three of the teens sitting in front of him.

“As I was saying, a friend of mine has set up a basketball league for kids in Shinobi GATE like yourselves, and I think it would be a good idea for the three of you to sign up. Lord knows you need something to waste your energy on.” Kakashi had directed the last sentence directly at Naruto and, as if taking it as a personal challenge, the teen jumped up to stand on his chair and thrust his fist into the air.

“Alright, basketball! Sakura, Sasuke, let’s join the team and show everyone else in GATE who’s boss!” The other two teens sighed.

“No thanks, I’m not interested in stupid things,” Sasuke said.

“Yeah, I’m not sure my mom will let me join,” Sakura echoed. “She already says I spend too much time away from home.”

“I’d really like all three of you to join,” Kakashi repeated. “You need to exercise more than just your mind. You may be GATE students, but you’re all really lazy. At least think about it.” He checked his watch. “Anyway, it’s five o’clock so you all need to get going. Be safe on the way home and I’ll see you tomorrow right after school.” Sakura and Sasuke pushed out of their chairs as Naruto leapt down from his.

“Hey guys, let’s stop on the way home and get dinner or something!” Naruto said.

“I wish I could, but my mom will kill me if I eat before I go home,” Sakura said, dodging the arm Naruto was trying to throw over her shoulder. Kakashi didn’t miss the expression of dejection that shot across Naruto’s face, but it was only a second before he lit up again.

“How about you, Sasuke? Come on, let’s go eat!” Sasuke sighed.

“With you?” Naruto nodded enthusiastically, seemingly oblivious to the insult in Sasuke’s tone. He sighed. “Fine. I don’t have anything to eat at home anyway.”

“Hey, Naruto, do you even have money for dinner?” Kakashi asked skeptically. Naruto pulled out his wallet.

“Ehh… not really,” he admitted, pulling out three one dollar bills. Kakashi sighed and pulled out his own wallet, producing two tens and handing one to each teen.

“There, make sure you eat something with vegetables in it,” he said.

“Thanks, Mr. Kakashi!” Naruto yelled, running out of the room.

“You know he’s just going to buy ramen, right?” Sasuke said. Kakashi shrugged. Sasuke sighed and followed after Naruto.

“See you tomorrow, Mr. Kakashi!” Sakura waved as she followed behind the two boys. Kakashi shook his head affectionately as he watched them leave. It had never been in his plans to be a mentor in the Shinobi GATE program, but plans hardly ever went as expected and - he hated to admit - he was actually somewhat enjoying helping the kids. He had grown up in this neighborhood himself and he knew how tough it could be.

He gathered up his belongings and started walking towards his apartment. The air was cool - winter was just turning to spring - and he pulled his ever-present scarf up to shelter his face from the wind. A faint odor on the breeze caught his attention - a familiar scent, but one he hadn’t smelled in so many years. It smelled almost… woodsy. Kakashi sniffed the air and found the source of the mysterious odor, a shop across the street. The sign above the door offered him no clues as to why it would provide the familiar scent - “Yamato’s Nursery” meant nothing to him. Before he could realize what he was doing, he found himself jaywalking across the street to find the source of the scent.

_Jingle jingle_.

The door played a cheery tune as he pulled it open and stepped inside. He looked around, confused.  _A… tree shop?_  He chuckled. That would certainly provide a woodsy odor. A surprising pang of disappointment flooded Kakashi’s stomach. It was just trees, but it had seemed so much more… familiar…

“Kakashi?” His head shot up. That voice, that voice which so unmistakably matched the familiar scent, it could only belong to…

“Tenzo. It’s certainly been a while since I’ve seen you.”


	2. Chapter 2

Yamato stared slack-jawed at the man standing before him. The light from the sun shone through the shop window behind him, creating a heavenly aura around the unexpected visitor. He felt his mouth go dry as he sputtered out disjointed syllables.

“What… how did you… when did you… what?” Yamato tried to clear his mind enough to form at least one coherent thought. “What are you doing here?”

“I don’t know,” Kakashi said. Yamato scoffed. It was just like Kakashi, to show up unannounced after all these years and then not even begin to explain himself.

“I didn’t ask you to come here!” Yamato heard his voice wavering, belying his harsh exterior. “What are you doing here?!” Kakashi ruffled his bright white hair - a quirk Yamato recognized as Kakashi’s way of buying time to come up with an answer.

“I… smelled you,” he said finally. Yamato couldn’t help but recoil in confusion - whatever answer he had been expecting, that certainly wasn’t it. “No, that sounds weird. I just mean, I smelled the trees and I stopped by to investigate. I didn’t know you worked here.” The two men stared at each other in silence. The initial shock of seeing Kakashi had given way to anger, but even that was starting to fade as he stared at the man standing before him. Kakashi’s expression was balancing somewhere between shock and awe, and his wavering eyebrows made him look sickeningly adorable. Yamato had never been able to stay mad at Kakashi for long - a power Kakashi knew well and had abused many times in the past.

“I’m surprised you’re back in the neighborhood,” Yamato said, breaking the silence. “After you left us, I thought you were gone for good.”

“I had intended to be gone for good,” Kakashi admitted, and Yamato felt his heart sink. “But that didn’t work out.”

“Clearly,” Yamato retorted, a sense of betrayal swelling up inside him at Kakashi’s response. “Well you can go now. Since that’s what you wanted so badly. I have no desire to see you anymore.” Yamato spat the words out, each one stinging his tongue as he did. Kakashi cocked his head to the side and raised one eyebrow.

“You want to get dinner? I feel like we have a lot to catch up on,” he said. Yamato stepped back in surprise.

“Dinner?!” he exclaimed. “I… I have my shop to run!” Kakashi looked around.

“Ohhh, it’s your shop? I’m impressed, Tenzo.” Whatever shock Kakashi had felt walking into the store had clearly worn off, and he had fully regained his composure along with his usual expression of disinterest. Yamato noticed and silently cursed him for not caring as much as he did.  _He never cared as much as I did…_

“Well, whenever you close I’ll come by and we can get something to eat,” Kakashi continued. “I’d really like to catch up with you.” Kakashi’s voice felt like melted chocolate slowly drizzling over all the bad memories of the last several years, blotting them from view. Yamato tried to maintain his harsh expression but felt it and his anger being melted away. He sighed.

“Fine, I close at seven,” he said, defeated.  _I still can’t stay mad at him… even after everything that happened._

“Seven it is,” Kakashi said, flashing Tenzo a smile that made him weak in the knees. “I’ll see you then.”

__

Kakashi checked his watch. 6:57. He tapped his feet restlessly on the ground and stared at the curiously named shop across the street.  _Yamato’s Nursery… Yamato…_  Kakashi sighed. He’d spent his whole life trying to atone for his many sins and had made his peace with most of them. But he had no idea how he would explain everything to Tenzo. Of course he hadn’t wanted to abandon him all those years ago, but there was really no way he could expect Tenzo to understand that or forgive him.

_I can’t expect him to forgive me… I can’t ask him to forgive me._  Kakashi sighed and closed his eyes, his memory suddenly flooded with images he had worked so hard to block out.

_“Kakashi, I’m begging you, please don’t leave me. Don’t abandon me like everyone else.”_ Kakashi’s chest tightened at the recollection.

_Jingle jingle._

Kakashi’s head shot up at the sound. Tenzo stood in front of the door for a moment - presumably locking up - before sighing and turning to leave. Kakashi jumped up and walked over to him.

“Oi, Tenzo!” he called. Tenzo jumped in surprise and turned around.

“Oh, so you are here,” he said, flatly. “I didn’t expect you to show.” Kakashi sighed. He really couldn’t blame Tenzo for his distrust.

“Come on, let’s go,” he said, choosing to ignore Tenzo’s comment and walking off towards the entrance to the subway. He chanced a glance behind him and was both surprised and elated to find that Tenzo was actually following him.

Two trains and dozens of blocks later, Kakashi and Tenzo walked up the stairs from the subway and emerged at Columbus Circle.

“What are we doing here? This is pretty far from home,” Tenzo said, looking around.

“Yeah, but you’ve always loved the park, right? I figured we could just eat here.” Kakashi silently revelled in the flush that appeared on Tenzo’s cheeks and the fact that he had put it there. Four years ago he had been able to make Tenzo blush with just a glance, and he was happy that, despite everything, Tenzo still sucked at hiding his emotions.

They walked into the park and Kakashi bought two kebabs from a street vendor before choosing a bench under an impressively large tree. He sat down and offered one of the kebabs to Tenzo, and they ate in silence for a moment as Kakashi desperately tried to figure out how to break the silence.  

“So, what did you want to catch up on?” Tenzo asked finally, relieving Kakashi of the burden of figuring out what to say first.

“I don’t know, just everything,” he said, still grasping for the right words. “It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you.” Tenzo scoffed.

“Yeah, and who’s fault is that?” he spat. Although this reaction was certainly warranted, Kakashi was still taken aback. Tenzo had always been a sweet kid growing up, and his eagerness to please everyone had caused him to be non-confrontational, almost to a fault. But Kakashi realized he shouldn’t really be surprised by Tenzo’s reaction… everyone had a breaking point.

“Mine,” Kakashi said simply. Tenzo glanced over, surprised. “I know it’s my fault. I shouldn’t have left you.” He looked at the ground, afraid to see the expression on Tenzo’s face, afraid to see if those eyes that had once been full of admiration were now full of disdain.

“How long have you been back?” Tenzo asked softly. Kakashi wished he go back to yelling.

“Too long,” he admitted, his stomach churning at the knowledge of how much his next words were going to hurt the man sitting next to him. “A couple years.” He forced himself to look up at Tenzo and watch his heart break. He knew he was being selfish by shielding himself from having to watch Tenzo’s pain. After all, he was the primary cause of Tenzo’s pain.

“A couple years…” Tenzo repeated quietly, mostly to himself. Kakashi watched the range of emotions play across the other man’s eyes - surprise followed quickly by anger, all swallowed up by hurt and confusion.

“Tenzo… “ Kakashi started, unsure what he was planning to say. “I’m sorry.” Tenzo chuckled and glanced up at Kakashi with a new look in his eyes - Kakashi stared silently, trying to identify it. It made him uneasy.

“Well I guess I should thank you for one thing. You’ve cured me,” he said, standing up. Kakashi felt his heart race as he looked up at the younger man. He’d always been so sweet and kind - it was what had made Kakashi fall in love with him to begin with. But the softness Kakashi remembered so well in Tenzo’s eyes was gone now, and he suddenly recognized the look that had replaced it. The same look he himself had worn for so many years - the look of pure contempt. “I’m not in love with you anymore.”

Tenzo’s eyes burned through Kakashi’s soul and his words forced the air from his lungs. Before he could even begin to formulate an apology, Tenzo turned and left him sitting alone on the park bench.


	3. Chapter 3

“Mr. Kakashi, you listen when I’m talking to you!” Kakashi’s eyes focused back in on the teen sitting across from him, speaking in a mocking tone that was likely a failed impression of Kakashi’s own voice. Naruto burst out laughing at the confusion on Kakashi’s face. “You always say that to me, so how does it feel!”

“It really wasn’t that funny, Naruto,” Sasuke said quietly, shaking his head.

“What were you saying, Naruto,” Kakashi said, masking his slight embarrassment at having zoned out with his usual sigh. He had been unable to focus much on tutoring today after the way dinner had ended last night. He had spent the whole day wrangling with himself about whether to go back to the tree shop tonight and try apologizing again, or if that would only upset Tenzo even more.

“I was asking about basketball! Sakura’s parents gave her permission to join the league, so we’re all in!” Sasuke whipped his head around.

“I never agreed to that!” he snapped. Naruto’s face fell as he looked over at Sasuke with an almost infantile pouty face. Sasuke sighed. “Fine. Whatever.” Kakashi laughed to himself as Naruto started cheering at his small victory. Naruto was usually an absolute buffoon when it came to social interactions, and Kakashi hadn’t yet been able to figure out if he knew the effect he had on Sasuke and was using it against him, or if it was purely by chance.

“Excellent, so you’ll all be ready for practice right after we’re done here?” The teens nodded, Sakura and Sasuke much less enthusiastically than Naruto. Kakashi checked his watch. “Well, we’ve still got about ten minutes.” He sighed, anxious to get away from the confines of the school and figure out what to do about Tenzo.

“Everything okay, Mr. Kakashi?” Sakura’s voice made no effort to hide her concern. While Kakashi put on a front about hating kids, he couldn’t deny that he felt a strange sense of ownership over these three. Especially Sakura. Naruto and Sasuke both had sad life stories and were orphans, just like Kakashi. But Sakura was genuinely kind hearted and had her own share of struggles, though admittedly different from those that Kakashi, Sasuke, and Naruto had to bear.

“Oh, everything’s fine,” he said, waving his hand lazily in front of his face as if to swat away the notion that something was wrong.

“You seem distracted,” Sakura continued.

“I know what it is,” Naruto said, in a tone that could only mean he had no clue what it was. “Mr. Kakashi is having  _girl problems_.” Sakura rolled her eyes and Sasuke chuckled softly. Kakashi raised one eyebrow.

“Why would you think that?” he said, remaining intentionally vague.

“Because you’re acting all weird like adults do when they’re having stupid problems with their wives and stuff. Girl problems,” he said, crossing his arms over his chest with a decisive nod.

“Oh, is that so,” Kakashi continued, trying to run down the clock on this conversation so he could ship the kids off to basketball and head on to more important things.

“Sasuke, I’m right, dontcha think?” Naruto said. Sasuke chuckled.

“No, I don’t think Kakashi is having  _girl_ problems,” he said, emphatic enough that Kakashi actually raised his eyebrows in surprise. Naruto sighed dramatically.

“Ehhh, ‘woman’ problems, whatever,” he said, making air quotes with his fingers as he talked.

“Not quite what I meant,” Sasuke muttered, barely audible. Kakashi shot him a warning glance before checking his watch again.

“Well, it’s close enough to time,” he said, standing up to put an end to the uncomfortable conversation. “I’ll come with you to introduce you to the coach before I leave.” He stuffed his hands in his pockets before heading out the door, hearing the three teens follow closely behind him.

They walked down the hall towards the gymnasium, the hollow sound of bouncing balls and the squeaking of shoes growing louder with each step. A familiar booming voice somehow drowned out all of the other sounds as soon as Kakashi opened the door.

“Oh, ho! Kakashi! Come to accept a challenge, have you?” Kakashi sighed.

“No, Gai, I’m here to drop off my kids for basketball,” he said, gesturing behind him at the three. They were staring at Kakashi’s friend with expressions of mixed horror and admiration, and Kakashi could hardly blame them. Gai was wearing a green tank top and impossibly tiny green shorts, both of which displayed his impressive build. While not actually taller than Kakashi, his confident presence made him appear to tower over everyone. He flashed a ridiculously wide grin and a thumbs up at Kakashi’s students.

“Excellent! You can call me Coach Gai. Lee!” Kakashi felt the three kids behind him jump at the sudden increase in the already deafening volume. A teenaged boy dressed in frighteningly identical clothes to Gai ran up behind him.

“Yes Coach Gai?”

“Take these three new recruits over to get a uniform!” Lee ran over to the trio and led them towards the locker room.

“Kakashi, what have you gotten us into!” Sasuke hissed as Lee physically pushed him away. Naruto had already run off, and Sakura was following him with more hesitation.

“Kakashi, you’re not going to stay?” Gai asked once the kids were out of earshot.

“No, I have things to take care of tonight,” he said, an image of Tenzo flashing across his thoughts.

“Hmm, well at least tell me your kids’ names,” Gai said.

“Naruto is the loud one. Sakura is the girl. Sasuke is the dark one,” he said, pointing vaguely at each kid fighting with blue pennies as he described them. Gai grunted.

“Sasuke… isn’t he the one…?”

“Yep,” Kakashi interrupted. “But don’t bring it up.” Gai nodded and shot Kakashi a thumbs up.

“Hopefully next time you’ll be able to stay! We’re playing three on three and each group needs their own coach. You’re lucky there was a substitute coach assigned or else your kids would be benched!” Kakashi hadn’t realized he was supposed to coach his students and felt a slight pang of guilt at leaving them with a mystery substitute. But the guilt associated with Tenzo was much more pressing, and he decided it required attention first.

“Well, sorry Gai, but I’m busy. Maybe next time,” he said, waving. He turned to leave just as the gymnasium door swung open.

“Ah, there he is now, the substitute coach who will lead your kids to victory!”

Kakashi stared in horror at the man who had come through the door and who was now staring back at him with mirrored expression.

“Tenzo!  _You’re_ the substitute coach?!”

___

For the second time in two days, Yamato found his mouth and brain completely dry. Words danced on the tip of his tongue, but none of them seemed to make any sense.

“I thought you closed at seven!” Kakashi continued, clearly not experiencing the same vocabulary shortage as Yamato. 

“That’s only on Wednesdays!” he said finally, unsure why he was yelling. “What are you doing here?!” Kakashi scoffed, a ridiculous noise coming from the usually reserved and contained man. Yamato noticed with some level of smug satisfaction that his out-of-character behavior had been noticed by Gai and a few of the kids behind him, all of whom were now staring at the sputtering silver-haired man.

“What am I doing here?! I work here!” Kakashi yelled, oblivious to the gaping stares of his friends behind him. Yamato let out a strangled laugh.

“They let you work with kids?!?!”

“Kakashi, do you know this man?” Gai boomed. Yamato could see the exact moment that Kakashi remembered he was in a public forum - he sighed deeply, stuffed his hands in his pockets, and leaned back into his usual relaxed stance.

“Yep,” he said, several decibels lower than he had previously been shouting. “He’s an old friend.” Yamato couldn’t help rolling his eyes at that description - for multiple reasons. Gai either didn’t notice or chose to ignore Yamato’s reaction, and let out a eardrum-stinging laugh.

“Hah! Perfect! Then you should be even more motivated to lead your kids to success, Coach Yamato!”

“Yamato?” Kakashi asked, thick with confusion, but Yamato cut him off before he could reveal too much. He regained his composure and stepped around Kakashi to talk to the head coach directly.

“There’s a team in need of a substitute, Coach Gai?” he asked. Kakashi turned to stand next to Yamato, side-eyeing him suspiciously.

“Kakashi’s team!” He waved Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura over, despite the fact that they were only a few steps away to listen in on the conversation. “Let me introduce you to Coach Yamato, he’ll be your coach since Kakashi is busy tonight!”

“He looks young enough to be in the program himself!” Naruto objected. Yamato could sense Kakashi’s smirk, even though it was hidden by his ever-present giant scarf.

“I’m 19! Besides, wouldn’t you rather have me as your coach than old man Kakashi?” Yamato was satisfied to see Kakashi whip his head around to glare at him as Naruto burst out laughing.

“Have you ever even played basketball, Ten… er,  _Yamato_?” Kakashi said. Yamato chuckled and glanced over at Kakashi.

“Maybe I spent the entire last four years playing,” he replied. “Anyway, don’t you have somewhere to be?” Yamato revelled in making Kakashi sputter a second time.

“I… got my days mixed up,” he said. “I’m free tonight.” Yamato put his hands on his hips and raised one eyebrow in Kakashi’s direction.

“You don’t want me to coach your kids that badly?” he said.

“Wow, Naruto, you were right,” Sasuke said. “He is having ‘girl’ problems.” Yamato looked over at Kakashi in time to see him shoot Sasuke a threatening glance.

“Actually, I’ll just observe,” Kakashi said. “Yamato probably is a better coach than me.”

“Excellent!” Gai yelled. “You can be a cheerleader, Kakashi!” Yamato couldn’t help but grin at the thought of Kakashi wearing a tiny cheerleader outfit. “Coach Yamato, go get ready and we’ll get started!”

__

Kakashi took his seat in the bleachers behind Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura as Tenzo went into the locker room with his duffel bag.

“How do you know that man, Mr. Kakashi?” Sakura asked. Kakashi sighed as he thought back on how complicated it would be to answer that.

“Oh, just from the neighborhood. We were both in the GATE program ourselves,” he said. It wasn’t a lie, but it didn’t really begin to explore the depth and breadth of how Kakashi and Tenzo knew each other. Of their complicated childhood experiences. Of Kakashi risking everything in his life to save Tenzo from Father Danzo. Of Tenzo unknowingly saving Kakashi from himself.

“So like me and Sasuke!” Naruto said, jabbing Sasuke in the side with his elbow. Kakashi raised his eyebrows and looked at Sasuke.

“Almost exactly like that,” he said, mockingly. He was surprised to see Sasuke’s cheeks flush a little - the kid usually showed no reaction to anything. Kakashi looked around the gymnasium. There were four teams including his own, and Kakashi recognized the other coaches as his fellow tutors and childhood friends Asuma and Kurenai. Gai was already on the court with his team, enthusiastically stretching.

The door to the locker room opened and Kakashi couldn’t contain a soft gasp as Tenzo emerged. He was wearing a tight black tank top that Kakashi couldn’t help but notice displayed his delectable shoulders, and black shorts that, while not as tiny as Gai’s, still showed off a fair amount of thigh. Tenzo glanced away from Kakashi with a flush in his cheeks when he noticed him staring.

“You were in GATE together, huh?” Sasuke said, mirroring Kakashi’s earlier mocking tone.

“Alright, everyone’s ready!” Gai boomed from the court, and Kakashi mentally thanked him for distracting Sasuke for the moment. “Everyone on the court! We’re going to play three on three, half court!”

Tenzo enthusiastically motioned for Sakura, Naruto, and Sasuke to take the court before grabbing a basketball from a large bin and dribbling it around the court. He deftly jumped into the air and shot it directly into the basket. Kakashi raised his eyebrows.  _Maybe he wasn’t joking about playing for the last four years._

“Alright, Coach Yamato!” Naruto yelled. “You’re way better than Mr. Kakashi!” Kakashi shook his head in mock insult, but didn’t disagree with Naruto. Tenzo chuckled and glanced over at Kakashi, turning slightly pink again when he saw that he had been watching. Kakashi had half a mind to think Tenzo was only showing off for him to begin with, but he shook the notion away.

Gai loudly assigned the first teams - Asuma’s team would play Kurenai’s on half the court, and Gai’s would play Kakashi’s on the other half. Tenzo sat down on the first row of bleachers as Gai’s team walked over to begin the match. Kakashi scooted down to sit next to him.

“You’re not bad,” he said, crossing his arms over his chest and looking straight ahead. He saw Tenzo glance at him from the corner of his eye.

“Thanks,” he said.

“Hey, no fair, they’re older than us!” Naruto shouted. Gai’s team was indeed older than Kakashi’s but only by a year. Kakashi wasn’t surprised to find that the boy dressed identical to Gai was on the team, as well as a cute brunette girl with dimples and a tall, broad shouldered boy with beautiful long hair that he was currently tying into a messy bun.

“Makes me wish you never cut your hair,” Kakashi said softly. Tenzo whipped his head around in surprise to look at Kakashi before chuckling and looking back at the court.

“I guess you did play with it all the time,” he said fondly. Kakashi chuckled as he remembered countless times he had practiced braiding Tenzo’s hair or tying it in pigtails or just running his fingers through it. “But I had to grow up sometime. Plus, it made everyone think I was a girl at first.” Kakashi couldn’t resist turning to look at Tenzo’s now-short hair and impressive muscles.

“They certainly wouldn’t now,” he said, immediately embarrassed by his own forwardness. He saw Tenzo’s face get impossibly red.

“Coach Yamato, come on!” Sakura yelled from the court. Tenzo slapped his hands on his thighs and stood up.

“Well, here we go,” he said, jogging over to the sideline. Kakashi watched as Tenzo gave brief instructions to the team on where to stand and what to do before Gai blew a whistle - much too loudly - and the game began.

Kakashi chuckled as he watched Tenzo run up and down the sidelines, getting way to invested in the game. Naruto shot the ball wildly, missing the basket by a long shot, and Tenzo pulled at his own hair in frustration.

Tenzo had always been tightly wound, a trait that Kakashi loved to poke and prod at for fun. He knew exactly what to say to set Tenzo off and he knew exactly when saying nothing at all would set him off. He had always stressed about everything much more than Kakashi did. Kakashi preferred to just go with the flow - he had spent part of his youth being a tightly wound ball of stress and found that it had only created more problems for him. But he was happy to see that Tenzo was still as anxious as he remembered.

Gai’s team turned out to be quite proficient at basketball - which came as no surprise to Kakashi, he was absolutely certain Gai had forced them to practice daily before the league started - and they were obliterating Kakashi’s team. Naruto was overly competitive but wasn’t very good, and it was Sasuke who was carrying the team on his back.

“Naruto, just pass me the ball!” he yelled, just as Naruto threw another wild shot that came nowhere close to the basket. Sasuke groaned and looked skyward, as if asking the heavens to grant him patience. The long-haired boy on the other team caught the wild shot and returned it, adding two points to their already astronomical score.

“Way to go, Neji!” Gai and Lee boomed in unison.

“Naruto, it’s a team sport!” Kakashi heard Tenzo yell from the sideline. “Throw the ball to Sasuke when you get it!”

The game continued in this manner until finally Gai blew the whistle again, putting Kakashi’s team out of their misery.

“And the winners are… Team Gai and Team Asuma!” he yelled. Six of the kids on the court cheered, while the other six moped over to the bleachers.

“We’ll do better next time!” Tenzo said cheerfully once they were all sitting next to Kakashi. The three kids groaned in response. “Come on, I’ll buy you three dinner for your hard work.” At that suggestion, the trio cheered up significantly.

“Alright, Coach Yamato!” Naruto yelled, jumping up. “You coming too, Mr. Kakashi?” Kakashi glanced at Tenzo, his eyes full of question.

“Sure he is,” Tenzo said, maintaining eye contact with Kakashi. “But I’m not paying for him.” Kakashi chuckled and stood up.

“Ah, we’ll see about that.”


	4. Chapter 4

Much to Naruto’s chagrin the group had ended up at a pizza shop for dinner rather than the ramen restaurant, as it was the only place large enough to accommodate their size after Gai had so generously invited all seventeen league participants to join Yamato and Kakashi’s group, despite the fact that he himself had not been invited to begin with. 

Yamato didn’t mind the large group - in fact, it made him feel better about spending a second dinner a row with Kakashi. After all, they were just two people who so happened to be in the same dinner group. There was nothing strange or intimate about that at all. The fact that they were sitting right next to each other was also coincidental, and not at all important. Or so Yamato had spent the entire dinner trying to convince himself. 

“Hey, Coach Yamato!” Naruto yelled entirely too loudly, considering he was sitting directly across the table from Yamato. “Are you going to keep being our coach or is Mr. Kakashi going to take over?” 

“I’m just the substitute, Naruto. If Kakashi is free, he’ll be your coach.” Naruto seemed pleased by this response and happily took a bite out of his umpteenth slice of pizza.

“Surely you wouldn’t rather have me coach you?” Kakashi said mockingly. “Or are you thinking about blaming Yamato for your loss today.” Yamato scoffed at Kakashi. 

“It wasn’t Yamato’s fault, if anything it was Naruto’s fault,” Sasuke said. Naruto threw his hands up in question, seeming genuinely confused by Sasuke’s accusation. 

“The blame for a lost match belongs solely on the shoulders of a proper leader!” Gai boomed from down the table, somehow having heard the entire conversation. 

“Well, I can hardly call myself a proper leader,” Yamato admitted. “Considering your actual coach bailed on you, I’d say the loss is his fault.” He shot Kakashi a smug look and was surprised to see a familiar sparkle in Kakashi’s eye.

“If you can’t take over proper leadership duties, maybe you shouldn’t be a substitute,” Kakashi said. Yamato crossed his arms over his chest and smirked.

“I know you’re just trying to rile me up, Kashi, but it’s not going to work.” He mentally punched himself for falling back on his pet name for Kakashi, but tried to hide any outward sign of embarrassment in hopes no one else would notice. Everyone else in earshot noticed, and several people shot him raised eyebrows. 

“I never rile you up, Tenzo. You do that all by yourself.” Yamato scowled at Kakashi.

“I do not! And don’t call me that!” Kakashi chuckled as Yamato realized he had fallen directly into his trap.

“I’ll call you whatever I want to call you,” Kakashi whispered softly, sending a shiver up Yamato’s spine. He was glad that only his group and Gai’s were close enough to hear, and all of them had been distracted by by Lee shouting wildly down the table. 

“Neji! We must choose nicknames for each other too!” He was staring with intense excitement at the beautiful long-haired boy sitting next to him, who was staring back with equally intense annoyance.

“Absolutely not,” he said.

“I’ll call you… Nejo!” Neji shook his head.

“How is that a nickname?” the cute brunette girl on their team protested. “It’s not any shorter!” Yamato sighed, embarrassed to have become the source of such a loud and intense debate. Especially since the debate was sure to turn everyone’s attention back to him and Kakashi at some point. As if on cue, Naruto piped up.

“It is a little weird you have nicknames for each other,” he said. Yamato looked at Kakashi for help. 

“I told you, we were in GATE together,” Kakashi said, and Yamato was sure he saw a faint blush across his pale cheeks. 

“So? Sasuke and I don’t have nicknames for each other,” he said. Sasuke chuckled.

“I do too have a nickname for you, idiot.” Naruto scrunched his nose up in confusion at first, then slowly realized what Sasuke was saying.

“Oh yeah? Well I have a nickname for you too, and it’s ‘jerk!’” Sasuke chuckled again, which only made Naruto more angry. Sakura sighed deeply, clearly tired of dealing with their antics. 

“It doesn’t count as a nickname if you’re just insulting each other,” she said. “‘Idiot’ and ‘jerk’ aren’t anywhere near as cute as ‘Kashi.’” Yamato turned red again. He was certain the conversation had tangented off enough to where no one would remember his little slip up, and he cursed Sakura for bringing it back up. 

“Give me a break!” he spat. “I’ve known him since I was ten! It’s easier to say Kashi than Kakashi for a kid.” 

“No it’s not, you’re just lazy,” Kakashi said, eyes crunched up in a hidden smirk. 

“You’ve known each other that long?” Naruto said, awe struck. Kakashi chuckled.

“Careful, Naruto, or I’ll think you’re calling us old,” he said. Yamato exhaled sharply.

“Speak for yourself,” he said, rolling his eyes. Kakashi laughed - a comforting sound that Yamato realized he hadn’t heard in years and had gravely missed. He couldn’t stop himself from looking over at Kakashi and smiling, and was glad to find Kakashi looking back at him.

“Well, it’s probably time to get going before anyone’s parents start freaking out,” Kakashi said, breaking their gaze and standing up. The pizza shop filled with the sound of chairs scraping against the cheap tile floor as everyone followed suit. They stood outside saying their goodbyes until Kakashi and Yamato were left standing on the sidewalk alone. 

Yamato felt adrenaline pumping wildly through his veins as he stared at Kakashi. The logical side of his brain was yelling at him to turn around and leave, just as he had the previous night. But their continued forced interaction had reminded him why he had fallen in love with Kakashi to begin with. And why he knew it had been a lie when he claimed in anger to no longer be in love with him the night before. He wanted desperately for Kakashi to say something, ANYTHING, to break the silence, but he just stared at Yamato, silent. 

Kakashi shifted his weight and opened his mouth to speak. Yamato felt the air catch in his lungs as his mind played out a million possibilities of what Kakashi might say. 

“Well, guess I should get going,” he said. Yamato felt his stomach drop and cursed himself for expecting anything different. He had given Kakashi a million chances to say the right thing and he hardly ever had. Kakashi lived in his own mind - a world he had only let Yamato into once before shutting him off again. The logical side of Yamato’s mind took over, and he tried to push his feelings of disappointment away.

“Right, it’s late,” he replied. Kakashi stared at Yamato a moment longer before waving and turning to leave. Yamato stared at his back as he walked away, expecting to again feel the anger from the previous four years but instead feeling only sadness. He had always spent too much time looking at Kakashi’s back - he had spent most of his adolescence running after him in one way or another - and he thought he had finally caught up to him before he left. Now, four years later, it hardly seemed fair that he was thrust suddenly backwards to where he had started. But his brief moment next to Kakashi had taught him one thing - Kakashi wasn’t actually a cold-hearted person. 

“I didn’t mean it!” Yamato shouted suddenly, surprising even himself. Kakashi turned around to look at him in confusion. “What I said last night, I didn’t mean it.” He felt his face burning hotter and hotter as Kakashi simply stared at him in response. 

“Do you want to go get a drink or something?” Kakashi said finally. “We can finish our conversation from last night.” 

“I...I’m only 19,” Yamato said. “I can’t drink at a bar.” Kakashi shrugged.

“At my apartment then,” he said. Alarm bells and flashing red lights went off in Yamato’s brain as he thought about the implication of Kakashi’s invitation. He knew it could only be a terrible idea to get involved with Kakashi again. It had ended in heartbreak before, and it would surely end in heartbreak again. The best thing to do would be to politely decline Kakashi’s invitation, turn around, and leave.

“Okay, sound good,” he said. “Where do you live?”


	5. Chapter 5

Kakashi fumbled with the key to his apartment, shaking hands betraying the air of calm disinterest he was trying desperately to convey. He glanced over his shoulder and was relieved to see that Tenzo was looking around the hallway of his apartment building, not at all paying attention to Kakashi’s trembling fingers. 

The key finally clicked in the lock and the door swung open. Kakashi stepped out of the way to let Tenzo inside first, then shut the door behind the both of them.

“You can just have a seat on the couch,” he said, noticing Tenzo’s awkward hovering in the living room. He went into the kitchen as Tenzo sat tensely on the couch. “What do you want to drink?” 

“Just… whatever you’re having is fine,” Tenzo replied, picking at his fingers. Kakashi grabbed two cups and a bottle of cheap whiskey before walking over and sitting on the floor on the other side of the coffee table from the couch. Tenzo slid off the couch to join Kakashi on the floor, on opposite sides of the table.

“You can sit on the couch,” Kakashi reiterated. Tenzo shrugged.

“I feel too tall if you’re down here,” he said. Kakashi chuckled as he poured whiskey in the two cups and handed one to Tenzo. “So, you wanted to talk?” 

Kakashi tried to analyze his thoughts in order to formulate a response in such a way that wouldn’t send Tenzo running off like he had the previous night. 

“I just want to apologize for - “ His sentence was cut off by Tenzo sputtering and choking on his first sip of the whiskey. Kakashi fought back a smile and chuckle. “You okay?” 

“I’m fine,” Tenzo coughed hoarsely, not sounding fine in the least. 

“Is… this your first ever drink?” Kakashi asked tentatively. 

“No!” Tenzo exclaimed defensively. “Just my first drink of absolute trash whiskey like this.” Kakashi chuckled as he stood up, grabbing the cup from Tenzo’s hand. 

“You learn to love it when it’s cheap,” he said, walking into the kitchen to deposit a few ice cubes in Tenzo’s glass.

“Oh, so you’re still a cheapskate,” Tenzo said. Kakashi hummed affirmatively in response as he handed Tenzo his drink and sat back down on the floor by the table. Tenzo took another sip, more hesitantly this time, and was able to keep it down without coughing. “Anyway, what were you saying?”

The coughing incident had given Kakashi time to rethink what he wanted to say, and now he found himself again lost for words. He swirled his drink around in his cup before taking a sip, savoring it longer than it was worth just to buy time to figure out what to say. 

“What have you been up to the last four years?” he asked finally. Tenzo sighed and shrugged.

“Finished school, left the boys’ home, opened the tree store,” he said. “That’s about it.” 

“Played basketball?” Kakashi joked. Tenzo chuckled.

“Yeah, I did,” he said. “What about you? What have you been up to since you left the boys’ home?” Kakashi sighed deeply as he tried to recall the major events from the whirlwind that was the previous four years.

“Left town, found out it sucks just as bad out there as it does here, came back, got a job at a bookstore for a while before becoming a Shinobi GATE tutor this year,” he said. Tenzo huffed quietly.

“Why did you come back?” he said, so softly it was practically a whisper. Kakashi took another too-long sip of his whiskey without breaking eye contact with Tenzo. 

“I guess I had a reason to want to, don’t really know,” he lied, knowing full well exactly why he had come back. Tenzo scoffed and shook his head.

“Don’t try to tell me you came back for me,” he said. “If that were the case, I would’ve seen you two years ago.” Kakashi considered this and shrugged.

“Maybe,” he said finally. He decided it was best to not mention that he had indeed come back with the intention of seeing Tenzo but had chickened out. He had chickened out because he realized that it didn’t matter how badly he wanted to see Tenzo, he couldn’t shake the feeling that it would be unfair to Tenzo to put him through the heartbreak of life with Kakashi. Sweet, innocent Tenzo who had gone through so much in life - he deserved so much better than the inevitable pain Kakashi would inflict on him just like he inflicted on everyone else he cared about. So he had spent two years hiding from him, resisting every fiber of his being telling him to reach out, with each passing day know it became more and more impossible. In fact, the reason he had waited until this year to become a tutor was so that he wouldn’t chance running into Tenzo at school. And he probably still wouldn’t have reached out if it weren’t for that damn tree shop luring him in.

Kakashi finished off the last sip of his whiskey and poured himself a second glass. He could feel the very beginnings of intoxication - he was by no means drunk, but he could tell he’d be there quickly - and his inebriated brain started to supply all the words he had wanted to say to Tenzo for four years but didn’t know how. He took a sip of his refilled drink, not quite drunk enough yet to say all the words bubbling around in his mind. “What did you mean earlier? When you said you didn’t mean what you said last night.” Tenzo sighed heavily.

“You know what I meant, don’t make me say it,” he said. Kakashi felt his chest tighten at the confirmation that Tenzo had meant he was still in love with him. He looked down at his cup and finished off the last several sips in one gulp like a shot. He smacked his lips, letting the alcohol make its way to his brain before allowing himself to respond. “Do you really have to be drunk to have this conversation?” Tenzo said before he could speak.

“It helps,” he admitted. “You know words aren’t my strong suit. I never know what to say.” 

“That’s not true,” Tenzo said. “You always know what to say. You just never say it.” Kakashi stared at him, his heart pounding in his ears, before pouring one shots’ worth of whiskey into his cup and knocking it back.

“I said it once,” he said, feeling the sting of the whiskey on the back of his throat as he spoke. He was still sober enough to feel a rush of adrenaline at the trajectory of this conversation, knowing it was heading quickly down a path he might regret. Tenzo exhaled sharply as he took another sip of his own drink.

“Can you fault me for not believing you?” Kakashi’s memory dug up the deeply buried scenes from the one and only time he had told Tenzo he loved him. Like most things in his life, Kakashi had done that the wrong way - the words had slipped out accidentally, but once he had said them he found himself unable to stop. He had whispered them over and over again -  _ “I love you, Tenzo. I love you.”  _ \- each iteration said with more urgency and honesty as each thrust of his hips against Tenzo had became more desperate. After it was all over he had panicked, and it wasn’t a too long later that he finally graduated, packed up his belongings, and left the boys’ home for parts unknown. Of course he couldn’t blame Tenzo for not believing him - it had taken him years to believe himself. 

“No,” he said finally. “But it was the truth. It still is.” Tenzo’s head shot up from his drink, his expression as shocked as Kakashi felt by his own admission. The whiskey had clearly taken its toll on Kakashi’s brain, and he found words that he would never elect to say spilling out from his mouth. “I don’t know why I left, okay? I was just a kid. I was scared.”

“And I wasn’t?” Tenzo countered. Kakashi sighed and went to pour himself another drink, but Tenzo’s hand shot across the table and grabbed his wrist. “Stop it. I’m not going to let you drink your way out of this. You’re still sober enough to answer me, for now.” Kakashi stared at him.

“What do you want me to say, Tenzo!?” He was talking much louder than he meant to, and Tenzo recoiled his hand in surprise. “I can’t say anything to make it right. Can’t we just… start over?” Tenzo scoffed. 

“Start over? How? It already happened. You can’t unring the bell,” he said. Kakashi felt like he had become a solid block of stone. He wished he could sink through the floor and disappear to the world forever. It was bad enough that he was telling Tenzo how he felt, that he had been a scared kid, that he wanted to start over. But to have Tenzo shut him down?  _ This is exactly why I never tell anyone anything. _

His stomach churned from anxiety as he let his forehead fall onto the coffee table. He suddenly felt sick - was it just anxiety causing his stomach to churn? His mouth became slick and he jumped up and ran to the bathroom just in time to vomit into the toilet.

“Kakashi, are you okay?” Tenzo said from right behind him, voice full of concern. “You barely drank anything!” 

“Yeah, don’t think it’s that,” Kakashi said hoarsely, wiping his mouth. “Think I’m actually sick.” He felt Tenzo’s hand rest gently on his shoulder. 

“I’ll go get you some water,” he said. “Where do you keep your towels?” Kakashi pointed vaguely towards a closet and heard Tenzo bustle around his apartment, gathering items and bringing them into the bedroom before returning to the bathroom. “Do you need to stay in here or are you good?” 

“I’m good now,” Kakashi replied after analyzing the state of his stomach. Tenzo helped him to stand up and walk into the bedroom - Kakashi felt confident he was capable of walking on his own, but he certainly didn’t protest - before depositing him into his bed. 

“Pajamas…” Tenzo muttered to himself, looking around the room. “Oh right, you never wear pajamas.” Kakashi was already taking off his clothes and climbing under the covers of his bed. Tenzo turned and walked out of the room and for a moment Kakashi was scared he had actually left without saying goodbye. But the sound of water running in the bathroom sink ensured him that Tenzo was still present, and he returned shortly with a damp towel. 

“Here, this should help,” he said, gently placing the damp towel on Kakashi’s forehead. “There’s water on the table here. Do you need anything else?” Kakashi shook his head. “Okay then. I’m going to go, cause I have to go home and be ready for work tomorrow. But I’ll come by tomorrow morning to check on you, okay?” 

“You don’t have to do that,” Kakashi said softly. Tenzo scoffed.

“Well, I know for a fact you don’t have anyone else to take care of you, so someone’s got to.” Kakashi smiled softly. “Anyway, I’ll see you tomorrow,” Tenzo continued, turning to leave.

“Tenzo,” Kakashi said. Tenzo stopped and turned back around. “Thanks.” Tenzo smiled before turning and leaving the room. Kakashi let his head fall back on the pillow hard. He sighed in frustration - as usual, nothing during the evening had gone as planned. But he was surprised to realize he didn’t just feel frustrated, somewhere mixed in between the anxiety and nausea was a faint glimmer of hope. After all, Tenzo was coming back. 

___

Yamato’s alarm woke him up the next morning half an hour earlier than he usually chose to wake. The tree shop didn’t open until 9, but by 7:45 he was already leaving his apartment with a box of ginger tea in tow.

He had followed Kakashi somewhat blindly from the pizza shop to his apartment the night before and realized he wasn’t actually sure which apartment number they had gone to. He remembered walking up the stairs, was it five flights? He exited the stairwell on the fifth floor and looked around. His eye caught a familiar stain on the wall - he was telling himself if was coffee - that he remembered staring at while Kakashi had fumbled with the keys. He tried to position himself in such a way that the viewing angle of the stain was that of the night before and looked up to find himself in front of apartment 517. Hesitantly, he knocked. 

“It’s open,” called a familiar voice from inside. Yamato let out his breath - he had somehow stumbled upon the correct apartment. He opened the door to find Kakashi lounging on the couch, hair wet from having showered.

“You’re up earlier than I expected,” Yamato said, shutting the door behind him. “How are you feeling?” 

“I’m okay,” he said. “Feeling more stupid than sick at this point.” Yamato smiled at him and went into the kitchen.

“You want some ginger tea? Is your stomach still upset?” He looked over his shoulder to find Kakashi nodding in response. “Well then why are you up so early if you’re still sick, Kashi?” He opened cabinets at random trying to find a mug.

“You said you were coming by this morning. I didn’t want to still be asleep when you got here,” Kakashi said sheepishly. Yamato smiled to himself as he found a mug and tea kettle, filling the latter from the sink and setting it atop the stove. “Plus I have to be at work at 9 this morning, so I needed to get up anyway.” Yamato cocked his head.

“You good to go to work today?” Kakashi shrugged.

“Yeah, I think it was just a little bug. I’ll be fine,” he said. He chose not to mention that it was most likely just anxiety-induced sickness, not wanting to make Yamato worry or feel any responsibility. “Plus, I think I promised the kids I’d practice basketball with them tonight.” Yamato laughed.

“They could use the practice,” he joked. The tea kettle started whistling.

“Hey, why don’t you come too?” Kakashi said as Yamato poured the hot water into the mug with the tea bag. 

“Are you just trying to get out of coaching for this entire tournament?” he said with a tone of mock accusation, walking over and sitting on the couch next to Kakashi. 

“Really, Tenzo, do you think I would do that?” Kakashi said, the top of his nose wrinkling in a smile hidden by his scarf. “I just really think you’re better suited to coaching basketball than I am. You’re much better at it than I am.” Yamato felt a surge of pride at Kakashi’s words, even though the rational part of his brain knew that Kakashi was just sweet talking him into doing his work for him. But he’d always been a sucker for Kakashi’s sweet talk.

“Well, my shop doesn’t close until 5 again,” he said. “But if it’s after that, okay.” Kakashi hummed positively as he took a sip of his tea.

“We’re meeting at 5,” he said after taking his sip. “So that works out perfectly.” 

“Hey, can I bring someone?” Yamato said. “That way there’s six of us and we can play three on three.” He didn’t miss the flash of annoyance - or jealousy - that shot across Kakashi’s eyes, even though he tried to hide it with another sip of tea.

“Bring someone?” he said. Yamato chuckled.

“Don’t worry,” he said. “He’s around your kids’ age. He’s one of Danzo’s. He’s helped out at my shop a couple times and I’m trying to get him more involved in things outside of the Root House.” Kakashi’s face softened significantly at the realization that Yamato was bringing another lost cause kid and not a date. 

“One of Danzo’s, huh? Yeah, bring him. We can introduce him to life outside the cult,” Kakashi said with a knowing tone in his voice. Yamato couldn’t help but roll his eyes.

“How many times have I told you, it’s not a cult!” Kakashi chuckled at Yamato’s reaction. 

“It’s a cult,” he muttered into his tea mug, taking another sip. Yamato let out an exasperated sigh. 

“You’re still hopeless,” he said. Kakashi eyes rounded into a smile behind his mug. “I don’t even know why I bother. But I can’t stay here and listen to your insults, because I have to go to work.” He gently squeezed Kakashi’s thigh without thinking, and then immediately regretted it when he saw the look of surprise on Kakashi’s face. He jumped up and backed towards the door, feeling himself turn red as Kakashi’s face shifted from surprise to amusement. 

“Fine. I’ll see you and cult boy at 5pm,” Kakashi said, not bothering to mask the waver of a suppressed chuckle in his voice. Yamato shook his head in frustration but said nothing in his own defense.

“Whatever. Goodbye Kakashi,” he said flatly. Kakashi chuckled again, the familiar sparkle back in his eye. 

“Bye, Tenzo.” 

___

Kakashi was sitting on a bench watching Naruto throw wild shot after wild shot at the outdoor courts at the park not far from Tenzo’s shop when he finally saw Tenzo approaching with a tall, pale teenager. 

“Hmm, I wonder who he’s with?” Sakura mused from beside him. She and Sasuke had long since given up on playing with Naruto and were sitting on the bench with Kakashi. He only hummed in response to her question, unsure how much Tenzo or the kid would want to share about their life. 

“Coach Yamato!” Naruto yelled from the courts, inexplicably throwing the basketball over the tall fence in Tenzo’s general direction. He had to step a bit out of his way but was able to catch it just as he walked around the opening in the gate to join with Kakashi and the others.

“Hey Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura. Good to see you. This is a friend of mine, his name is Sai. I figured we could all work together to practice some three on three,” Tenzo said. Kakashi didn’t miss the wrinkle on Naruto’s nose or the faint flush on Sakura’s face.

“Ehh… how come I don’t know you?” Naruto said suspiciously. Sai cocked his head in confusion.

“Because we’ve never met,” he said simply. Tenzo and Kakashi shared a knowing look - it wouldn’t be the easiest to integrate this particular group of kids. But Kakashi gave Tenzo such a hard time about Father Danzo’s Root House being a cult because he truly believed it was one, and he was glad that Tenzo was helping at least one of the orphans there.

Naruto simply exhaled at Sai’s response, annoyed with being blown off but too disinterested to push further. 

“I think he means, why haven’t we seen you at school?” Sakura said, her voice much sweeter and an octave higher than usual. Kakashi suppressed a laugh - Sai was probably the last person he would’ve expected her to show interest in.

“Ah, I’m a member of Root House,” Said said. “I don’t attend public school like you do.” 

“Root House - you mean the cult?” Sasuke asked, his tone flat. Tenzo threw his hands in the air and pointed at Kakashi in accusation.

“What have you been telling them? It’s not a cult!” he exclaimed. Sai cocked his head to the side again, a brief moment of confusion spreading across his face before it returned to the usual awkward smile he wore. He took a small reporter’s pad out of his pocket and jotted down a note - presumably to look up what a cult was when he had time. Kakashi only chuckled at Tenzo’s response. He had always looked so adorable when he was upset with Kakashi. To others, Tenzo would most definitely look threatening and menacing. But to Kakashi he was just Tenzo, and his anger was anything but scary. Frankly, it was cute. 

“Mmhmm, you keep telling me that,” Kakashi said wryly. “Almost like you’re trying a little too hard to get me to believe you.” Tenzo rolled his eyes.

“I take it you’re feeling better now?” he said, voice thick with annoyance. “Back to your usual undesirable antics?” Kakashi hummed.

“Undesirable? And yet here you are,” he said, a hint of amusement in his voice.

He hadn’t meant to tease Tenzo so mercilessly this afternoon, he really hadn’t. But the conversation last night plus Tenzo taking care of him this morning  _ plus  _ the way he just looked so damn adorable right now were enough to make Kakashi lose that resolve. 

Not to mention, the way Tenzo blushed at Kakashi’s teasing made it worth whatever anger Tenzo would temporarily throw his way. 

Instead of anger, though, Kakashi was surprised when Tenzo threw the basketball his way. 

“Here I am indeed,” Tenzo said. “Me, Sai, and Sakura against you, Sasuke, and Naruto. Let’s go.” Kakashi raised his eyebrows.

“You’ve already picked teams?” he asked. He glanced down at Sakura who was beaming either from being teamed with Sai or from being picked for Tenzo’s team. 

“Well, I’m here to win,” Tenzo said. “So come on, Sakura, you’re with me.” Sakura leapt off the bench and ran over to Tenzo as Sasuke and Naruto huddled around Kakashi. 

“Alright, remember you two, teamwork is the most important aspect of the game! Don’t try to run out there and be heroes. Work together - it’s the only way we’ll win,” Kakashi said. Sasuke and Naruto both grunted in response. Kakashi stood up and walked out onto the court, dribbling the ball a little awkwardly. He had played basketball during the Shinobi GATE league when he was much younger - during the first years that Gai had organized it when he was still a student. But he hadn’t been very good then, and it had been four whole years since he even touched a basketball. 

His rusty skills weren’t lost on Tenzo, who let out a loud laugh.

“HA! This game is going to be cake, you two,” he said, loud enough for Kakashi and his team to hear. 

The teams took their positions and Kakashi started the game. He dribbed towards the basket but was taken off guard by a surprisingly adept Sai running from behind him and whisking the ball away. He shot from half court and the ball sailed directly into the net. Tenzo and Sakura cheered as Sasuke and Naruto both stared in disbelief. 

“Who is this guy?!” Naruto finally said. “Who does he think he is?!” 

“We just have to play harder, Naruto,” Kakashi said, pushing down his own sense of bruised pride that had bubbled up at the first points for the other team. The match started again, this time with Sasuke dribbling. Tenzo came running up behind him and he passed to Naruto - but Sakura jumped out of nowhere and intercepted, throwing the ball back to Tenzo who shot and scored. 

“Sakura, what the hell!” Naruto shouted in a misplaced sense in betrayal. Sakura just laughed at Naruto, which only made him more mad. Kakashi couldn’t help but feel a conflicting sting of pride for his student and anger at the growing point displacement between the teams. 

“Alright, Tenzo, now we’re going to get serious,” Kakashi said. Tenzo only laughed in response as Kakashi attempted to dribble past him. Before Kakashi could see what had happened, Tenzo had somehow gotten the ball away from him and had passed it to Sai, who scored again. 

Half an hour later, Kakashi was done being polite and was starting to feel the burn of embarrassment for losing so badly to his formerly sweet friend. Tenzo was clearly no longer sweet and innocent, oh no, he was ruthless as could be. Sasuke and Kakashi had both managed a couple baskets each and even Naruto had managed to get a couple points (which he cheered too loudly about), but it did nothing to help the ever growing point displacement between the teams. Kakashi noticed that even Sakura seemed to flourish on Tenzo’s team - she was extremely skilled at assists and had even scored a few points of her own. 

By some miracle or mistake, Sasuke had managed to score another basket, and Tenzo had the ball in hand to start.

“You ready, Kashi? You’re looking tired. You must be getting old,” he joked in a sing-song voice. 

“Keep that up and you’ll really make me mad, Tenzo,” Kakashi replied huskily. Tenzo laughed at the genuine frustration in Kakashi’s voice - it wasn’t very often Kakashi was willing to show his true emotions. 

Tenzo stepped forward and started dribbling the ball. Kakashi stepped forward to block him, a little too aggressively. His foot landed on top of Tenzo’s foot and they both tripped - Tenzo started falling backwards, and Kakashi instinctively reached over to try to help him remain upright but the force only made him lose his own balance. He fell forward, tumbling over Tenzo. He hit the ground with a soft  _ oomph _ and opened his eyes to see that he had accidentally fallen on top of Tenzo. His eyes widened and he sat up, only making their positioning more awkward as he sat upright on Tenzo’s waist, pinning him down on the ground. Tenzo’s face, already red from exertion, somehow became even more pink up to the tips of his ears. 

Kakashi stared down at him, noticing how his skin shimmered slightly from the beginnings of sweat beading on his temples, and how his brown hair was ruffled in a way that suited him quite nicely, and how his big brown eyes stared up at Kakashi with a mixture of so many different emotions - Kakashi chose to focus only on the notes of awe he recognized. 

“We pretty much lost this game,” Sasuke said suddenly, pulling both Kakashi and Tenzo out of their daze as they remained on the ground. “Come on, let’s go get dinner, guys.” 

“What, no! We can still come back! If we just use teamwork like Mr. Kakashi says!” Naruto protested loudly. Sasuke chuckled. 

“Well, I was craving ramen but I guess if you want to keep playing…” Naruto ran over to Sasuke and pulled him off the court by the hand.

“Nope, I’m done playing! Let’s go! Sai, Sakura, you want to come?” 

“Uh, sure,” Sakura said, staring at the two men still tangled together on the ground. “Come on, Sai, we’ll all go.” 

“The game is technically not over for another several minutes,” Sai said, clearly oblivious to the tension in the air. Sakura grabbed him by the arm and led him away, his confused protests growing quieter as the group got further away. 

Kakashi stared down at Tenzo, finding himself rooted to the spot despite his very keen awareness that he needed to get up, and that the kids had noticed the awkward tension, and that they were going to eat alone and did they even have any money? But he couldn’t move. He could only stare down at Tenzo and realize that he was such an idiot, such a  _ stupid _ idiot for leaving four years ago and for wasting the last two years hiding in the shadows thinking he wasn’t good enough for Tenzo because he couldn’t deny now that all he wanted was to lean down and kiss him. And even worse - the look in Tenzo’s eyes told him in no uncertain terms he’d accept that kiss with pleasure. 

Tenzo’s adam’s apple broke Kakashi’s trance as he gulped in anticipation. 

“Want to go back to my apartment?” Kakashi said finally. 

“Mine’s closer,” Tenzo replied breathlessly.


	6. Chapter 6

Unlike Kakashi’s had been the previous night, Tenzo’s hands weren’t shaking or trembling at all as he flipped out his keys and unlocked the door to his apartment with a sort of calm determination that set Kakashi alight with burning desire. The key clicked in the lock and Kakashi followed Tenzo closely inside.

The door barely had time to shut all the way before Tenzo had turned around and pushed Kakashi up against it, ripped off the medical mask he had been wearing for the basketball game, and had hit him hard with a burning kiss - the kind of kiss that made Kakashi feel all four years’ worth of desire in himself and Tenzo. He let Tenzo’s lips sear into his own for too long, only pulling away when he absolutely had to breathe.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” he said breathlessly. Tenzo was already moving in for another kiss, his hands slowly caressing down Kakashi’s chest and resting on the waistband of his shorts.

“Shut the fuck up, Kakashi,” he said as their lips connected again in another bruising kiss. Kakashi moved his hands up from Tenzo’s waist to his head, letting his fingers tangle through the short brown hair for a moment before grabbing a chunk of his hair and pulling his head away from their kiss. 

“I don’t want you to regret this,” he said. “You said you don’t want to start over.” Tenzo took a shaky breath as he looked from Kakashi’s shiny, kiss-swollen lips up to his eyes.

“We’re not starting over. We’re picking up where we left off. Where we should’ve still been, if you hadn’t been such an idiot,” he growled. Kakashi was already lost in Tenzo’s eyes, which burned with a sort of primal desire that made Kakasi forget all of his trepidations completely. He released his grip on Tenzo’s hair and pushed his face forward, kissing him again. 

He moved his hands down to Tenzo’s chest and tried to push him backwards towards the couch or the bed - he hardly cared which - but Tenzo refused to comply. Instead his hands that had been resting on the waistband of his shorts were suddenly on Kakashi’s ass, grabbing it through the silky fabric of his basketball shorts, causing Kakashi to arch his hips forward into Tenzo. He swore for a second he could hear actual static in his brain as the feeling of his arousal against Tenzo’s caused his brain to cease all higher processing capability.

Kakashi tried to move his hand to the hem of Tenzo’s shirt to pull it off but Tenzo suddenly grabbed his wrist - hard - and slammed his hand up against the door. 

“Dammit, Tenzo, what are you…” 

He forgot what he had been trying to ask when Tenzo’s other hand was no longer grabbing his ass and was instead pulling down his shorts, which fell unceremoniously to the floor. Kakashi stopped fighting against Tenzo’s grip and he let go, dropping to his knees as he pulled Kakashi’s underwear off. Kakashi let out a soft moan as Tenzo’s tongue teased the head of his cock. He heard a soft  _ thud _ and realized it was the sound of his own head falling backwards against the door. Absently, he wondered if they should move to a location less prone to wandering ears, but the thought completely evaporated when Tenzo used his tongue to trace up the vein on the underside of Kakashi’s cock before swirling his tongue around the head as his fingers gently caressed up the same path.

Kakashi felt his whole body shudder involuntarily at Tenzo’s touch. Tenzo chuckled softly at this response, causing Kakashi to let out another low moan at the added sensation. Kakashi realized his hand was still pressed against the door even though Tenzo had long since released him from his grip, and he dropped it down to Tenzo’s head, tangling his fingers through his hair again before pushing his head forward to take Kakashi completely. Kakashi let out a shaky breath as his cock slid down Tenzo’s throat and Tenzo gripped his thighs hard. He looked down at Tenzo as he fucked his mouth and was surprised to see how eager he looked - his eyes were closed but his brow was slightly furrowed in a look of determination, his jaw loose to take Kakashi in completely. The sight of it was enough to make Kakashi feel the heat of orgasm starting to form. He yanked Tenzo’s head away by the hair again, causing the younger man to let out a slight yelp. 

But he recovered quickly and was standing up again, kissing Kakashi with lips slick from saliva. Kakashi moved his hand to the hem of Tenzo’s shirt once again and this time the brunet complied, breaking their kiss long enough to allow Kakashi to pull the shirt over his head. Instead of returning to kiss Tenzo’s lips again, Kakashi let his lips fall to his neck, sucking the soft flesh there and then biting it hard, satisfied by the soft whine Tenzo made in response. He gently kissed the red mark he left before pushing his hands against Tenzo’s chest, backing him towards a door he could only guess led to the bedroom. Tenzo blindly fumbled for the door handle behind him, finally finding it and allowing the door to swing open. 

They stepped into the room and separated just long enough to quickly remove their remaining bits of clothing before coming back together for another sloppy, desperate kiss. Kakashi didn’t even realize they were moving but suddenly they were falling down onto the bed, Tenzo breathing heavily beneath him. He gestured towards the bedside table just out of reach, and Kakashi rolled over enough to pull open a drawer and search carelessly through Tenzo’s items before finding a bottle of lube. 

He rolled back over to find that Tenzo had readjusted himself to be centered on the bed and was looking at Kakashi with lusty eyes that made him forget what he was doing. He let his eyes trail down from Tenzo’s eyes to the rest of his body, noting how muscular his chest and arms had become since the last time he had seen him this way. 

“What are you doing, hurry up,” Tenzo breathed, breaking Kakashi’s spell. He squirted the lube onto his fingers and moved to kneel between Tenzo’s legs, the younger man adjusting his hips to give him better access. He let one slick finger gently caress the opening of his lover’s hole, relishing the way Tenzo’s eyes fluttered at the sensation. He slowly pushed his finger all the way in followed by a second, gently stretching the younger man’s hole. The addition of a third finger caused Tenzo to let out a strangled cry of pleasure, the sound of which made Kakashi think he couldn’t wait one more single second. He removed his hand and squirted more lube on it, preparing his cock. He leaned down and wrapped Tenzo’s legs around his own waist, then gently pushed forward. Just the feeling on the tip of his cock gracing the entrance to Tenzo’s hole was enough to send a shiver down his spine, and he pushed in all the way, drawing a cry from his lover as he bottomed out in him. He let Tenzo adjust to having him inside of him, the sound of his own shaky breath echoing loudly in his brain. 

Finally, he drew back and thrust forward again, eventually settling into a rhythm as he leaned down to lay another burning kiss on Tenzo’s lips. He reached down and began to stroke his lover’s cock in rhythm with his own thrusts. 

“Shit - gonna… cum…” Tenzo breathed between thrusts. Kakashi felt a low moan emerge from his own throat at the sound of Tenzo’s pleasure. Tenzo breathed Kakashi’s name as he came, white hot ribbons of cum erupting from his cock, smearing on his own chest and Kakashi’s hand. Kakashi began thrusting at a much more punishing pace, chasing his own release in a frenzy. It didn’t take long for him to feel the heat of orgasm overflow, emptying himself into Tenzo and releasing a much-too-loud cry of pleasure. 

He held himself inside Tenzo for a moment, eyes closed, feeling his arms wobble as he struggled to support his own weight. He heard Tenzo’s shallow breaths beneath him and slowly removed himself from his lover. He meant to get up and get something to clean up with but his arms and legs were too shaky to cooperate, and he fell in a heap next to Tenzo. 

“You alright?” Tenzo asked quietly. Kakashi turned his head to look over at him and nodded. 

“Yeah, you?” he said. Tenzo swallowed hard and nodded. Kakashi tried to slow his racing breaths enough to regain motor function. 

“So, I guess I shouldn’t expect to see you for another four years?” Tenzo said. Kakashi’s head shot up in surprise but he was relieved to find a devious sparkle in Tenzo’s eyes and a smirk on his lips. He chuckled.

“Shut up, asshole,” he said, eliciting a laugh from his lover.

___

Yamato awoke the next morning to the sound of a bird cawing obnoxiously by the window. His annoyance evaporated at the realization that he felt something resting on his chest, and he opened his eyes to see Kakashi sleeping peacefully, using him as a pillow. 

He had ended up spending the night at Yamato’s apartment after they had ordered a pizza for dinner, watched some television together, talked about stuff that had happened the last four years, and ended up falling back into bed for a second round. 

Yamato couldn’t believe the way his week had gone. In the span of a few short days, he had gone from not having seen Kakashi in four years to waking up with Kakashi on his chest. He had dreamed about Kakashi’s return day after day - sometimes imaging boldly telling him to go to hell, other times imagining running into his arms like some damsel in a movie, and still other times imagining ripping his clothes off and showing him exactly how glad he was to have him back.

He chuckled as he realized he had pretty much done all three of those things over the past few days.

Kakashi stirred gently on Yamato’s chest, his eyes fluttering open.

“Hey,” he said groggily. 

“Hey,” Yamato replied. “How’d you sleep?”

“Honestly? Better than I have in years,” he said, stretching his arms out. “Since we were roommates at the boys’ home.” Yamato laid his head back and smiled. Who would have thought that his time in the foster home would have given him something so absolutely perfect? Sure, Orochimaru’s foster home had been abusive and Danzo’s had, arguably, been a cult. But in the end, being a foster had given him Kakashi. And damn if that didn’t make it all worth it. 

He felt Kakashi kiss his chest gently, then kiss all the way up to his lips. 

He couldn’t believe he was waking up to a good morning kiss from Kakashi Hatake.

Kakashi kissed back down his neck to his nipple, sucking it gently, causing Yamato’s back to arch from the sensation. Kakashi continued his journey kissing down Yamato’s chest to his stomach, and just as he got to his belly button, Yamato’s alarm went off. 

“What the fuck?” Kakashi said, startled. Yamato groaned. 

“Shit, I have to go to work,” he said. Kakashi let his head fall face-first onto Yamato’s stomach. 

“But it’s Saturday!” he said, his voice slightly muffled. Yamato chuckled. 

“Doesn’t matter. My shop is open on weekends.” Kakashi groaned into Yamato’s stomach. 

Yamato rolled off the bed, letting Kakashi’s face fall into the sheets. He started getting dressed in his usual jeans and black button up shirt he wore for work, and looked over to see Kakashi watching him dress. 

“You can stay here if you want, I don’t mind,” he said, buttoning the last couple buttons on his shirt. Kakashi rolled onto his back, kicking the blanket off himself and splaying out in a position that Yamato guessed was the product of irritation, but it caused Yamato to forget how buttons work. He stared at the naked man pouting at him from the bed.

“You don’t have time for a quickie?” Kakashi said, raising one eyebrow. Yamato looked at the clock and tried to find a way to make half an hour’s worth of activity fit into the ten minutes he had until he needed to leave. 

“No,” he said, sighing. “I really don’t.” Kakashi sighed and sat up, his white hair adorably ruffled from sleep. 

“Hey, how about I help out at the shop today?” Kakashi said. Yamato lowered his eyes at him, suspicious of his motives. “You’ve been helping me coach the kids, so it’s the least I can do.” Yamato chuckled.

“Do you actually plan on helping out at the store or do you plan on sitting at the store and reading your book while I do all the work?” he said. Kakashi hummed in consideration.

“Probably the latter,” he said. “But won’t my presence spur you on to work harder? That’s how I’ll be helpful.” Yamato scoffed and left the room without a word, walking into the kitchen to brew a cup of coffee. He heard the bed creak softly as Kakashi presumably got up, and a minute later he emerged from Yamato’s room fully dressed. 

“You want some coffee?” Yamato said. Kakashi nodded.

“Yeah, I’ll need it since I’m going to be working hard all day at your shop,” he said. Yamato cocked his head to the side and put his hands on his hips. “What? You don’t want me there?” 

“I do want you there,” Yamato said, turning the coffee maker on. “As long as you’re actually planning on helping.” Kakashi walked up behind him and wrapped his arms around his waist, gently kissing his neck.

“I’ll help,” he whispered in Yamato’s ear. “Besides, I have to start making up for the last four years somehow.” Yamato chuckled.

“Fine,” he said. “But you can’t wear those sweaty basketball clothes if you’re planning on working. Go home first and change.” Kakashi looked down at his wrinkled clothes as Tenzo poured coffee into two travel mugs, handing one to Kakashi.

“Okay,” he said. “I’ll meet you at the shop.” Kakashi took a sip of coffee and winked at Yamato before turning and leaving the apartment. Yamato sighed and watched him leave until the door shut, reminding him that he was on a schedule. He quickly grabbed his keys and left the apartment.

The tree store was only a few blocks from Yamato’s apartment and the walk seemed to take no time at all as he replayed through the events on the previous night in his mind. Before he knew it, he was unlocking the shop and flipping the sign to ‘open.’ He walked behind the counter and threw on a green apron embroidered in yellow with the words ‘Yamato’s Nursery.’ Saturday mornings were not typically very busy, and he leaned his head against his hand on the cool steel counter, anticipating a significant wait before any customers arrived.

Sure enough, it was almost half an hour before the  _ jingle jingle _ of the door signalled the arrival of the first customer. Yamato straightened up to a more acceptable standing position, but quickly leaned down again when he recognized the wild tufts of hair on the man walking through the door. 

“Ah, yes. I can see why you didn’t have time for anything this morning,” Kakashi said sarcastically. “All these customers would’ve been disappointed if you were late.” 

“Unlike you, I try to stick to a schedule,” Yamato snapped. Kakashi chuckled as he started walking up and down the rows of trees, touching some of the leaves and sticking his face in one that was flowering to smell it.

“What kind of tree is this?” he asked about the flowering one. Yamato walked over to stand next to him.

“It’s a flowering dogwood,” he said, gently touching one of the branches. “It’s one of my favorites. Right now they’re flowering because it’s spring. But later in the fall they’ll produce little fruits. I’ve always loved these particular flowers. If you look at any individual flower, it’s actually pretty plain. But when you take the tree as a whole, it’s almost magical. It’s like all the flowers work together to produce something worth more than the sum of its parts.” He looked over at Kakashi staring at him with one eyebrow raised and felt his cheeks turn red. “Sorry, that was a little dramatic.” 

“No, it’s a good description,” Kakashi said. He suddenly chuckled. “I doubt you remember this. But the first time I met you was under a tree that kind of looked like this. You were just sitting alone in the park, looking up at the flowers on the tree above you.” Yamato smiled.

“Of course I remember,” he said. “I’m impressed at your memory. It was a dogwood tree I was sitting under. They’ve been my favorite forever.” He smiled up at Kakashi, who suddenly put his hand on Yamato’s cheek and started leaning down towards his face.

_ Jingle jingle. _

Kakashi ripped his hand from Yamato’s cheek and stepped back as they both cleared their throats awkwardly. Yamato looked over to see an unfamiliar customer entering the shop, thankfully not having noticed the moment between Yamato and Kakashi. Yamato walked over to the customer.

“Good morning, how can I help you?” 

“I’m looking for a tree that will add some color to my rooftop garden,” the lady said, looking around. “Green is a nice color, I guess. But I was thinking something more… exciting.” Yamato gestured towards the rows of flowering trees.

“Well, I have just the thing for you, over here we have - “ 

“Ah, let me show you the perfect tree for your needs,” Kakashi interrupted Yamato, using his best smooth talking voice. Yamato watched as Kakashi led the customer by the arm over to the flowering dogwood. “This tree is your best bet. As you can see, it flowers in the spring with white or pink flowers. Then in the fall, they make little berries, which will add another level of color. You will get much more than just green with this tree. It’s really worth more than the sum of its parts.”

Yamato laughed internally at Kakashi’s stolen description. He shook his head in mixed admiration and disappointment as he watched the lady fall for Kakashi’s sweet talk completely, agreeing to buy multiple dogwoods for her garden. Yamato checked out her purchase and waved as she left the shop. 

“See? I told you I’d help,” Kakashi said from behind Yamato. Yamato chuckled.

“I’ll admit it, I’m impressed,” he said. “Mostly that you were at all listening when I was talking about that tree.” Kakashi wrapped his arms around Yamato’s waist.

“I always listen when you talk,” he said. “Now where were we before she so rudely interrupted…” He started leaning down towards Yamato’s face again but Yamato pushed two fingers to his lips, stopping him. 

“Not at work,” he said. “We’re out here where any customer could walk in and see, and that’s not very professional.” Kakashi sighed, but took his arms from around Yamato’s waist. 

“You’ve never been fun,” he muttered, pulling out a book from his pocket and jumping up to sit on the counter. Yamato sighed but said nothing as he rested his chin back on his hand, leaning on the counter and glancing up at Kakashi. 

___

Kakashi glanced over the top of his book to watch Tenzo bustle around the store.They hadn’t had very many customers and Kakashi had found himself doing exactly what Tenzo had predicted - sitting on the counter reading his book while Tenzo ran around doing all the work. Kakashi had forgotten how much he hated working retail - he wasn’t very good at keeping himself occupied if there wasn’t a very clear and apparent task at hand, like a customer in the shop. Tenzo clearly didn’t have the same issue. He was walking around pruning trees and sweeping leaves and watering some of the smaller plants he had for sale. He had barely stopped moving all morning.

So when he finally went into the back room for something, Kakashi decided he needed to help him to relax. He was obviously much too stressed, or else he wouldn’t be running around the shop in a panic. 

Kakashi jumped off the counter and followed Tenzo into the back room to find him counting the different types of seed packets he had in stock. He walked up behind him and wrapped his arms around his waist. Tenzo jumped in surprise and turned around.

“I told you, not at work!” he protested. Kakashi nuzzled his face into Tenzo’s neck.

“We haven’t had a customer in hours and we’re in the back room,” he said. “You’re too stressed. You need something to help you relax.”

He kissed up from Tenzo’s neck to his jaw and over to his mouth. As he predicted, his actions had caused Tenzo to forget all about his argument and no-PDA-at-work policy, and he was rewarded by Tenzo kissing him back. 

“You know, if we’re going to start making up for the last four years, we should probably just go ahead and start now,” he said, breaking their kiss and reaching down to Tenzo’s pants. Tenzo looked like he wanted to argue against that idea but was incapable of doing so. Just as Kakashi had unbuttoned Tenzo’s pants, the  _ jingle jingle _ of the door alerted them to a customer. Kakashi groaned and looked up at the ceiling.

“Why does this keep happening?!” 

Tenzo didn’t answer, he was too busy buttoning up his pants and slapping himself on the face in an attempt to regain his right mind. He shot Kakashi a “told you so” glance before walking back out into the main part of the shop.

“Oh, Sai,” Kakashi heard Tenzo say. “I forgot you were working today.” Kakashi rolled his eyes as he realized it was not, in fact, a customer who had interrupted their moment. He pushed open the door to the back room a little too aggressively and stepped into the store.

“Oh hey Sai,” he said. “There’s no customers today so Tenzo doesn’t really need your help. Thanks though.” Sai cocked his head in confusion.

“Tenzo?” he asked. Tenzo turned around and shot Kakashi such a menacing look that he actually took a step back in surprise.

“I mean… Yamato,” he corrected. Tenzo sighed.

“Ignore him, Sai,” he said. “I’d be happy to have you help out around the shop today.” Sai looked from Tenzo to Kakashi and back again, clearly assessing the situation, before he walked forward and grabbed the extra apron off the hook. “You can start by inventorying our stockpile of seed packets in the back room. Just make a list of each type of seed and how many packets we have.” Sai nodded and walked past Kakashi into the back room.

“You’re never invited to help out again,” Tenzo said as soon as the door shut. “Seriously, you’re acting like a hormonal pre-teen.” Kakashi groaned.

“I haven’t seen you in four years,” he complained. Tenzo scoffed.

“I’m sure you’ve been getting your jollies elsewhere in the meantime. Stop acting like you’re repressed,” he said. Kakashi just stared at him. “What? Are you trying to tell me you  _ haven’t _ been getting your jollies elsewhere?!” Kakashi shrugged. 

“Sometimes with Gai, but not all that often,” he said. Tenzo stared at him with his jaw hanging open, shaking his head back and forth in disbelief. 

“You’re joking with me,” he said finally. “You must be.” Kakashi shrugged again.

“I’m not,” he said. “Why would you think that? Who have  _ you  _ been fucking since I’ve been gone?” Tenzo sighed.

“A… few people,” he said hesitantly. “Genma. Yugao. Aoba. Anko.” Kakashi’s eyes widened with each name.

“God! Do you have a whole notebook full of names somewhere?” 

“Don’t be mean, you asshole!” Tenzo said. “Besides, you were gone! I didn’t want anyone but you but hey, you left.” 

“Is that it? Just those four?” Kakashi demanded. Tenzo shook his head in annoyance but didn’t answer. “I take that as a no.” 

“Why do you care? It’s not like I cheated on you,” Tenzo said. Kakashi crossed his arms and huffed despite the fact that he knew he was acting childish. He didn’t really feel like Tenzo cheated on him and wasn’t even really upset with him, he was just jealous of everyone who spent the last four years with Tenzo. 

“I know you didn’t cheat on me,” he said simply. “But let’s clear one thing up right now. I’m back now. And I’m selfish. I want you for myself.” Tenzo scoffed and rolled his eyes. 

“Oh, so you think you can just come and go as you please and keep me on the hook?” he countered. 

“No, I don’t,” he said. “I’m not planning on leaving again. There’s no coming and going. Well, there’s  _ coming _ .” Tenzo scowled at him a moment longer before bursting out laughing. 

“You’re a child,” he said. Kakashi chuckled. Sai came out of the back room, causing both Tenzo and Kakashi to take a step back from each other.

“Oh, uh… you all done with that Sai?” Tenzo asked. Sai nodded. “Great. Kakashi and I were just… sweeping.” Sai cocked his head.

“Oh, I thought you were shouting at each other about Brother Yamato’s various sexual encounters,” he said. Tenzo covered his face in his hands.

“Please just forget you heard that conversation, Sai,” he said. The door opened with its cheerful greeting before Sai could respond and Kakashi was horrified to find his three students entering the shop.

“What are you three doing here?” he asked in his most disinterested voice. 

“We were following Sai and he led us here and we thought it was just Coach Yamato inside but then we saw Mr. Kakashi’s hair…” Naruto was cut off by Sakura elbowing him hard in the side.

“We just stopped by to say hi,” she said. Sasuke rolled his eyes.

“Naruto wants to win the basketball tournament. When we saw all three of you here, we thought maybe we could all practice together.” Kakashi and Tenzo looked at each other and shrugged.

“Sure,” Tenzo said to Kakashi. “After the shop closes.”

“Fine,” he said to the teens. “But you better be prepared to practice if you want to win.”


	7. Chapter 7

Yamato stood in the locker room and took a deep breath before pushing the door open and entering the gym. Today was the second game of the basketball league and Yamato was hellbent on winning.

He and Kakashi had spent their entire weekend practicing with the kids and he was surprised how quickly they were improving. And despite his constant reassurance to them that “it doesn’t matter if you win or lose, it just matters that you try,” he really didn’t want to lose after how hard they had all worked. 

To be fair, he wasn’t even sure how he had gotten so involved in this game. He was supposed to just be a substitute coach for any of the teams, but Kakashi had managed to wiggle out of coaching almost entirely, leaving the responsibility on Yamato’s shoulders. Yamato wasn’t too surprised by this - Kakashi had always been slick.

The gym was already full of GATE kids and coaches, and Kakashi was sitting in the bleachers behind his students. Yamato walked over to them and tossed his duffle bag at Kakashi. 

“Here, put on your cheerleader outfit,” he said. “Since it’s the only job you’re willing to do.” Kakashi tossed the bag back. 

“I’m already wearing my cheerleader outfit,” he said. 

“You’re wearing the same thing you wear every day!” Naruto exclaimed. Kakashi chuckled.

“Exactly,” he said. Yamato rolled his eyes and tossed the bag aside before calling the kids over for a huddle. 

“Alright guys, we’ve been practicing really hard all weekend and I have a good feeling about this game,” he said. “Just remember all the plays we’ve practiced, and I’m sure you’ll do fine. Let’s go.” He ushered the kids onto the court where their opposing team was waiting. The team was coached by Asuma and consisted of a skinny guy who was standing with his arms crossed staring down Naruto, a chunky guy who looked scared to death and was trying to hide behind the skinny guy, and a blonde girl who apparently knew Sakura, based on the way they were bickering.

“You think you can beat us?” the blonde girl said. “I’ll just bounce the ball off of Sakura’s forehead and into the net!” Sakura turned almost purple with rage.

“Oh yeah, Pig?” she said. “Don’t run too hard or else the stuffing in your bra may fall out.” 

“I don’t stuff my bra, you brat!” she yelled. “Unlike you, I don’t need to!”

“Guys, come on,” the chubby shy kid said. “Let’s just play a clean fun game.” The two girls crossed their arms and gave a decisive  _ hmph _ , but stopped bickering. 

“Alright, who’s ready for game two of the 1994 Shinobi GATE basketball tournament?” Gai yelled from the center of the court. Yamato motioned for his kids to get in position as he ran back to the sidelines to coach. Gai blew the whistle - again, much too loud - and the game began. 

Asuma’s team had possession of the ball to start, but Sakura was clearly enraged by the blonde girl’s comments and had gone into full on beast mode. She stole the ball from the skinny kid and shot it directly into the net. 

“Holy crap! Way to go, Sakura!” Naruto yelled. 

“That’s the way, Sakura! Good job!” Yamato yelled. He turned around to give Kakashi a thumbs up and found him sitting right behind him. 

“Not bad,” Kakashi said. “Maybe if you win this game, I’ll humor you on the cheerleader outfit later tonight.” 

Yamato’s eyes got very wide and he felt his face turning red as he swallowed hard. The sound of the game had resumed behind him but he forgot he was supposed to be coaching. Kakashi chuckled at his reaction.

“You’re not going to win if you can’t coach,” he said. Yamato tried to sputter out an answer. 

“Don’t distract me while I’m coaching,” he said finally. He turned back around just in time to see Sasuke score two more points for his team. 

“Looking good,” he heard Kakashi hum in his most gravely, seductive tone. Yamato stuck his middle finger out behind him without turning around. “That’s later tonight too,” Kakashi said. 

Yamato threw his hands up and ran to another section of the sideline where he couldn’t hear Kakashi. He glanced back to see him holding his giant scarf over his face, likely to mask his laughter. 

By the time the game was coming to a close, Yamato had all but stopped coaching. His team was up by twenty points, and there was no physical way for Asuma’s team to score the necessary points to win before the game ended. Finally Gai blew the whistle, confirming their victory. Yamato joined his team on the court for their high fiving and jumping up and down. 

“Excellent job!” he said. “Way to improve!” 

“The winners are Team Gai and Team Kakashi!” Gai boomed from the center of the court. 

“Not bad,” Kakashi said, walking up to join the group. “Keep this up and you may just win the whole tournament.” 

“As long as we keep practicing with you and Coach Yamato, we’ll definitely kick everyone’s butts!” Naruto said. Yamato chuckled.

“Well you’ll have to rely on just Kakashi tomorrow,” he said. “My store’s open late on Wednesdays.” Naruto pouted. 

“Naruto, you’re going to make me feel bad,” Kakashi said with a grin. “You don’t think I’m a good coach with Yamato?” Naruto shrugged. 

“How about this,” Yamato said. “Come by the shop after work tomorrow if you want me to practice with you that late.” Kakashi and the kids agreed, and the five of them left for dinner.

___

Kakashi checked his watch. 7:15. Tenzo had yet to emerge from the shop, though Kakashi was sure he was still inside. After all, he had agreed to help coach after closing and Tenzo was always a man of his word. He had tried to let himself in but the door was locked when he had arrived just after 7:00, so he had made himself comfortable on the bench across the street. 

He chuckled as he thought back to one week prior, sitting on the same bench waiting for the same man, but with a much different set of emotions. Then he had been nervous and anxious, and for good reason too. But now he realized he was happier than he had been in years.  _ Funny how quickly things can change. _

It had always been that way with Tenzo, though. He had a knack for walking into Kakashi’s life and turning the whole thing upside down in a matter of minutes. It had been that way when they first met. Kakashi was living at the boys’ home and was fighting what he now knew was serious depression. Nothing made him happy. No one made him care. He had friends who tried really hard to cheer him up - Asuma, Kurenai, especially Gai - but Kakashi couldn’t let himself care about them. Not after what had happened to everyone else he cared about.

After his mother died in childbirth, Kakashi had been raised by his father. He loved his father dearly and they had a good life together, but depression doesn’t discriminate between the fortunate and unfortunate. Kakashi’s father killed himself for reasons Kakashi wasn’t sure he’d ever understand, though he certainly understood the feeling of not having a way out. 

He had found a second family in his Shinobi GATE tutoring group. With Minato as a father, Obito as a brother, and Rin as a sister, Kakashi started to feel like there was possibility for life after his father’s death. But Obito was killed in the crossfire of a gang shoot out - by a bullet that should have hit Kakashi. Even now Kakashi could hardly remember it, but he knew one thing was true: Obito had literally taken a bullet for him, and Kakashi’s life would never been good enough to make up for that. He had tried to live a life that would be worthy of Obito, really he had. But it seemed the universe had other plans. He tried to take care of Rin - but she died in a car accident while Kakashi was driving. He tried to make Minato proud - but he died of a disease that couldn’t be cured. And Kakashi was left alone again, just another orphan in the ANBU Boys’ Home with no one to love and no one who loved him. 

It was around that time he really started to understand his father more. Maybe suicide wasn’t the worst option. Maybe he should follow those footsteps and join his parents and Obito and Rin and Minato in whatever afterlife may exist. 

That was what he had been pondering during a dusk walk through Central Park when he noticed a small boy sitting alone under a tree, looking up at the white flowers on the branches as if they were magical and mystical. Kakashi stopped at stared at the boy for far too long - entranced by a connection he didn’t understand. His soul felt drawn to the soul of the flower boy, and he was powerless to break the spell. 

Eventually the boy noticed him staring, of course, and the spell broke itself. Kakashi walked over and sat next to him without a word. They had sat under that tree together for what felt like hours before either of them had spoken.

“I’m Kinoe,” the boy had said. 

“Kakashi,” he responded. “Have we met?” The boy shook his head.

“I don’t think so,” he had said. “I’m pretty sure I’d remember you.” Kakashi had felt like he knew Kinoe but he couldn’t identify from where. But he decided it hardly mattered - he knew him now, and that was enough. 

They had talked for hours and Kakashi had learned much about Kinoe - he, too, was an orphan, but had arguably had it much worse than Kakashi. His first foster parent was a man named Orochimaru. He had been physically and emotionally abusive to Kinoe for his whole childhood, and it was legally questionable how he had even come into custody of the boy in the first place. When those legal questions became legal problems, the foster system placed Kinoe in a foster home known as the Root House. 

Root House was a large orphanage run by a man named Danzo, who believed himself to be some sort of prophet and required his foster children to refer to him as “Father Danzo.” He homeschooled all of his youths in a sort of self-centered religious based education that was, according to Kakashi, basically brainwashing. And Kinoe was a victim of this brainwashing. After his experience with Orochimaru, there was no way for him to identify what Danzo was doing as abusive. 

Kakashi began to feel a strange mix of emotions as Kinoe told him his story. For reasons he didn’t understand, he suddenly felt like suicide was no longer an option. He felt he would be abandoning Kinoe if he did that, even though they had just met. He started to feel like his life’s purpose was Kinoe. 

And so he spent the next several months with Kinoe, eventually convincing him to leave the Root House and live with Kakashi at the ANBU Boy’s Home. He learned that Kinoe had been a name given to him by Danzo and had rechristened him Tenzo. He learned that Tenzo’s homeschooling hadn’t been aligned to the public school system and volunteered to be his Shinobi GATE mentor. He had spent every moment of his life with Tenzo or thinking of Tenzo.

At first he had considered Tenzo his brother, but it quickly became apparent that his feelings were much different than that. Tenzo had a noticeable crush on Kakashi forever, but it took Kakashi years to realize he reciprocated those feelings. And once he did realize it he had panicked, terrified of cursing Tenzo with whatever universal plague seemed to befall everyone he loved. So he left. 

Kakashi checked his watch. 7:19. 

He was glad that he was back with Tenzo now. It had taken him much longer than it had taken Tenzo to realize they belonged together, but the past was in the past and Kakashi was finally ready to accept his feelings and move forward with the man he loved.

_ Jingle Jingle. _

Kakashi looked up to see the door of Yamato’s Nursery swinging open and stood up to greet his boyfriend. He stopped short though when he saw not one but two people exiting the shop. One was Tenzo, and one was a familiar woman with short purple hair. Anko. 

Why the fuck was Anko there? Kakashi wracked his mind for a legitimate reason but came up short. But one thing he  _ did _ know was that she had been on Tenzo’s list of people he had been sleeping with while Kakashi was gone.

That must be it. 

Tenzo was cheating on him. 

Kakashi turned without a word and started the walk back to his apartment. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's only three games left in the tournament so Kakashi better figure out his feelings soon!


	8. Chapter 8

Yamato hummed a mindless tune as he bustled around his shop to sweep up the leaves that had fallen to the cement floor. He was in a good mood - he’d had more customers than ever before on a Thursday, there was a basketball game tonight that he was confident his kids would win, and Kakashi Hatake was back in town and dating him. 

He chuckled as he realized he had mentally referred to Kakashi’s students as “his kids.” Yamato had never been good with kids, not even when he himself was a kid, which is why he never chose to be a GATE tutor. He had considered it for a long time before graduation, but finally realized that he was more suited to a job where the only person who’s fate he controlled was his own. He didn’t want to be responsible for the academic failures of a bunch of students. 

That being said, he would never have expected Kakashi to be good with kids either. Kakashi was notoriously sarcastic, harsh, and rude - three traits that didn’t come to mind when Yamato thought of a good tutor. But then again Kakashi had been his tutor and he had turned out alright, all things considered. 

Yamato suddenly noticed that he was thinking about Kakashi without experiencing a physical pain in his chest. For so many years, just hearing the man’s name had caused him to almost break down; now, it caused a smile on his face. The realization made him feel giddy.

_ Kakashi, Kakashi, Kakashi,  _ he thought, laughing at himself. 

He hadn’t seen Kakashi the night before but wasn’t overly concerned about that fact. He had told the team to come by if they wanted to practice basketball after closing, and when they didn’t show up he just assumed they had already finished practice and had gone to dinner or something. Yamato had gone home and called Kakashi’s house, but he didn’t answer. Yamato figured he was still out at dinner, or had fallen asleep early. And since their relationship was still mostly new, Yamato decided it wasn’t like they needed to spend every single night together, so he made his own dinner and slept at his own apartment. He knew he’d see Kakashi at the basketball game tonight, so it wasn’t a big deal.

_ Jingle Jingle _

Yamato emerged from the aisle he had been sweeping to see Anko standing in the doorway of his shop.

“Hey, Anko!” he said cheerfully. “Back with your boyfriend’s truck?” 

“Yep,” she said. “Thanks for holding my trees overnight. Sometimes my stupidity surprises even myself!” She and Yamato both laughed.

“No problem,” he said. “Though I certainly would’ve liked to see you try to carry two trees onto the train. That would’ve made my day, honestly.” Anko laughed.

“You know I have no shame and normally I would carry random shit onto the train without hesitation,” she said. “But, goddamn, your trees are really heavy!” Yamato laughed.

“That is true,” he said. “You have no shame.” Anko laughed and gave him a playful shove.

“Shut up, jerk,” she said. The door jingled open and an extremely large man entered the shop. “Those are the trees, babe,” Anko said. The giant guy silently walked over to the trees and picked them both up effortlessly, then carried them outside to where Yamato assumed his truck was waiting.

“Anko, where did you even find this guy?” Yamato said after the door had shut behind him. “He’s huge.” 

“You have no idea,” Anko said suggestively. “I learned an important lesson recently - feigning interest in wrestling will get me everything I ever wanted.” Yamato rolled his eyes.

“You’re hopeless,” he said with a chuckle. “Anyway, thanks for stopping by! Since you paid last night you’re all good to go.” Anko waved and turned to leave before stopping short.

“Oh, I forgot to mention,” she said. “I heard a rumor recently… that you are Kakashi are a thing, finally.” Yamato tried to keep his face neutral but knew his blushing was giving him away. Anko grinned. “Yes!! It’s about damn time. We were all really tired of pretending he wasn’t back in town.” Yamato’s jaw dropped open and his eyes widened.

“Wait, you knew?!” he exclaimed. Anko looked like she realized she had let a huge secret slip. “What the hell, Anko? I thought we were friends!” 

“Don’t be mad!” she said sheepishly. “We did it for you! You were so fucking bummed when he left… please don’t be mad. Besides, you got him back now, right? So we’re cool?” Yamato scowled at her for a moment as she pleaded up at him with her hands folded under her chin. Finally, he sighed and shook his head.

“Yeah, we’re cool,” he said. “But the next tree you want to buy will cost you double.” Anko laughed.

“Yeah, that’s fair,” she said. “See ya! Tell Kakashi I said hi!” Yamato shook his head as she left the shop but couldn’t deny that he felt significantly less angry at Anko’s secret than he would’ve expected. It made sense that everyone knew he was back in town, and frankly it made sense that everyone would conspire to keep that information from him. As much as it hurt him when Kakashi had told him he’d been back for a while, it would’ve hurt a hundred times worse if anyone  _ other _ than Kakashi had been the one to tell him.

Yamato checked his watch and, seeing that it was almost 5 pm, started closing up the shop. At exactly 5 he flipped the open sign to “closed” and left the store, heading to the school with his duffle bag in tow. He knew today’s game would be against Kurenai’s team, who hadn’t won a game yet. They were three super smart kids, but basketball just didn’t seem to be coming easy to them. Yamato knew his kids could win with ease, but hoped they wouldn’t fall into a sense of false complacency. 

He spent the walk to the gym coming up with a game strategy and felt pumped and ready to go as he pulled open the door and walked inside. He saw his kids huddled around Kakashi, who was sitting on the bleachers. Waving, he walked over.

“Hey guys,” he said as he approached. “Alright, let me go change clothes really quick and then I’ll be back. I’ve come up with a game strategy and I think we - “ 

“No need,” Kakashi interrupted. Yamato looked at Kakashi and noticed with surprise that he was wearing his basketball clothes. “I’ll be coaching today. And it looks like Asuma, Kurenai, and Gai are here too. So you can go. We don’t need you.” Yamato stared at him wordlessly, his mouth opening and closing slightly. 

“I don’t think that’s a good idea, Kakashi,” Sasuke said finally, breaking the awkward silence. “We’ve done really well with Yamato coaching us.”

“Yeah, Coach Yamato helped us win last week,” Naruto said. “I want him to coach us!” Yamato glanced back over at Kakashi, who was sitting with his arms crossed and clearly refusing to meet Yamato’s eye. 

“This is the Shinobi GATE league, and I’m your GATE tutor,” Kakashi said calmly, enunciating each word as if making some kind of obvious point. “I’ll be your coach, and I don’t want to hear any arguments.” 

“Did… did you get in trouble for not coaching?” Yamato said, desperately trying to drag an explanation out of the other man. 

“I said you could leave,  _ Coach Yamato,”  _ Kakashi said, finally turning to look at him. His eyes burned with so much anger that Yamato actually took a step back and gasped slightly. He looked around at his kids and found them staring at him with looks of pity. 

“O...okay,” he said. “I’ll see you guys later.” Yamato turned and walked back out the gym door where he had entered. With tears of confusion stinging his eyes, he started for the exit before stopping short.

_ No, this is ridiculous,  _ he thought.  _ I deserve an explanation after all the work I’ve done. _

With newfound resolve, Yamato plopped down on the floor right outside the gym and waited.

___

By the time Gai finally blew the whistle to end the game, Kakashi had lost his kids’ respect. They had managed to beat Kurenai’s team but only barely, despite having obliterated Asuma’s much better team just two days ago. 

“The winners are Team Gai and Team Kakashi!” Gai boomed. “Next week will be the first week of the playoff round! The first place team will battle the fourth place team, and the second place and third place teams will show down!” 

“Gai, speak English,” Kakashi said. “Who’s playing who?” Kakashi’s kids all rolled their eyes.

“Maybe it you’d been our coach, you’d know that we’re in second place now,” Sasuke said. 

“Gai’s in first, we’re in second, Asuma’s in third, and Kurenai’s in fourth,” Sakura added, a tone of annoyance in her voice. Kakashi shrugged.

“Alright, so we should practice this weekend,” he said. 

“With Coach Yamato,” Naruto said. Kakashi shook his head.

“No, with Coach Kakashi,” he said. “We don’t need Yamato.” The kids scoffed.

“Clearly, we do,” Sasuke said sharply. “We barely beat the worst team in the league because you suck at coaching.” Kakashi tried to seem aloof but felt a pang of anger.

“Well then, all the more reason to practice without Yamato,” he said. “I need to practice coaching.” 

“The playoffs is not the time to start ‘practicing’ how to coach, Mr. Kakashi,” Sakura scolded. 

“Look, I don’t know what your deal is with Yamato all of a sudden, but are you really so proud that you’re going to make us lose?” Sasuke said. 

_ Yes, _ Kakashi thought.

“No,” he said. “We’re not going to lose. You guys are good on your own right, too. You don’t need Coach Yamato to win. Just work hard and I know you can pull this off.” His team just grunted in response to what he had hoped would be an exceptionally moving speech. Shaking his head, he started towards the door of the gym with the three kids following close behind. “You guys want to get dinner?” he asked, hoping to buy back their affections.

“Okay!” Naruto yelled, all annoyance with Kakashi seemingly forgotten. Smiling slyly at his success, Kakashi pushed open the door to the gym to find Tenzo sitting on the floor, arms crossed, indignant expression on his face. Kakashi stopped short and felt his breath catch in his throat.

“Uh, actually I just remembered Naruto and I have somewhere to be,” Sasuke said. 

“Me too,” Sakura added, cutting off what was clearly about to be a protest from Naruto. Sakura and Sasuke ran off dragging Naruto behind them, leaving Kakashi and Tenzo alone in the hallway. Kakashi tried to stuff his hands in his pockets but remembered he was wearing basketball shorts, and settled for crossing his arms over his chest and walking away.

“Kashi, wait!” Tenzo yelled, scrambling to get off the floor and run after him. When Kakashi didn’t stop walking, Tenzo reached out and grabbed him by the elbow. Kakashi pulled away and spun around, sticking his finger in Tenzo’s face.

“Don’t, Tenzo,” he said. “I have nothing to say to you.” 

“Can you just tell me what’s wrong?” Tenzo persisted. “I’d say I’ve at least earned an explanation.” Kakashi scoffed and rolled his eyes.

“You’ve earned an explanation?” he said. “Well, I thought I’d earned exclusivity, so I guess we were both wrong.” Tenzo shook his head, confused.

“Exclusivity? What are you talking about?” he said. Kakashi’s anger had finally heated up to a flash point.

“I’m talking about you fucking Anko in the back room of your shop last night!” he yelled. A few people walking by stopped to shoot them awkward glances. Neither Kakashi nor Tenzo noticed. 

“Well, that’s not true,” Tenzo said calmly. “She came by last night, yes. She bought two trees and then left.” Kakashi scoffed.

“Nice try, but I know that’s a lie,” he said. “I watched her leave. She didn’t have any trees with her.” Tenzo laughed but didn’t sound amused.

“Because she didn’t want to bring them home on the train,” he said, sounding very much like he was actively forcing himself to remain calm. “She came by this afternoon with her boyfriend’s truck and took them home.” 

“Well, doesn’t that sound like a convenient story,” Kakashi said sarcastically. He had to admit, it sounded logical. And he was starting to wonder if perhaps he had rushed to an incorrect judgement because of his insecurity regarding Tenzo’s sex life. But the image of Anko leaving the night before renewed his feelings of betrayal. 

“It’s not a convenient story,” Tenzo said. “It’s the truth. You should’ve just asked me what was going on if you were worried.” He reached out to rest a gentle hand on Kakashi’s arm, but he ripped it away.

“How can I just believe you?” he said. “It was after closing. You’ve already told me you’ve been sleeping with her.”

“Yeah, over a year ago, once!” Tenzo spat, finally angry. “And you should believe me because I’m asking you to, and you should trust me!” 

“Well maybe I don’t!” Kakashi yelled. The look of heartbreak on Tenzo’s face made him immediately regret saying it. 

“Are you seriously doing this to me again?” Tenzo whispered. He stared at Kakashi for a moment before storming off, leaving Kakashi to stare after him. He briefly considered running after him and apologizing but found himself rooted to the spot. He stared at the door at the end of the hallway as it swung open and closed and open and closed. Tenzo was gone. 

_ It’s better this way, _ Kakashi forced himself to think, in a futile effort to stop the anxious nausea that was quickly building in his stomach.  _ You’d only hurt him if you stayed.  _ Despite the thought, he couldn’t help but feeling like he’d made a huge, unforgivable mistake. 

“Kakashi.” A strong hand landed on his shoulder as Gai came up behind him, pulling him out of his quickly building despair. “Let’s go get a drink.”


	9. Chapter 9

Kakashi somehow found himself at the nearest bar, resting his head in his hand and stirring his drink mindlessly. He had intended to reject Gai’s offer of getting a drink, but Gai was nothing if not persistent and Kakashi was quickly worn down in his already emotionally compromised state. Now that they were at the bar, however, Kakashi was the only one who had even ordered a drink. 

“It’s been a while since we spent time together, Kakashi,” Gai said. Kakashi grunted. “I seem to be under the impression that Coach Yamato is actually your friend Tenzo.” Kakashi exhaled sharply.

“Nothing gets past you, Gai,” he said. 

“It sounded like you were arguing in the hallway,” Gai continued. Kakashi shook his head. Gai was his best friend and he really appreciated him, but sometimes he wished he wouldn’t be so…  _ Gai. _

“What of it,” Kakashi said, much more harshly than he knew Gai deserved. 

“What were you arguing about?” Gai said. Kakashi leaned back and sighed, weighing his options. On the one hand, he really didn’t want to talk about it. On the other, Gai would probably force him to stay at the bar all night if he tried to keep it quiet. 

“It’s nothing,” he mumbled. “We were… seeing each other. And we got in a fight so I guess it’s over now.” Gai raised his eyebrows.

“It must have been a serious argument,” he said. Kakashi shrugged.

“I thought he was cheating on me and he said he wasn’t,” he said. “I said some stupid things and he stormed off.” 

“Do you believe him?” Gai continued.

“Yeah, I guess I do,” he said. Gai let out a booming laugh and slapped Kakashi on the back.

“Well then, there’s nothing to worry about!” he said. Kakashi scoffed.

“Other than the fact that we’re done,” he muttered. Gai blinked in confusion.

“I don’t quite understand your conundrum, Kakashi,” he said. “You’ve determined Coach Yamato was not cheating on you. Why are you still upset about your relationship?” 

“We got in a fight!” Kakashi said, exasperated with Gai for not understanding. “So we’re probably done.” Gai stared at him for a while before chuckling. “Are you laughing at me?” Kakashi demanded.

“My dearest rival,” Gai said, resting his hand on Kakashi’s shoulder. “Perhaps you could simply try apologizing to Coach Yamato. Sometimes the easiest solutions work the best.” Kakashi took a long sip of his drink.

“He probably doesn’t want to talk to me,” he said. 

“Surely you, my greatest rival, aren’t afraid to apologize to him,” Gai said. “I have complete faith in you, Kakashi!”

Kakashi stared intently at his drink as he thought about Gai’s words. If he tried to apologize, Tenzo might not want to even see him. But then he’d just be in the exact same position he was in now. Although, there was a chance Tenzo would yell at him and make him feel even worse than he already did. 

“Well,” Gai said. “I’ll see you tomorrow, rival! I believe in you!” He stood up and shot Kakashi a thumbs up before practically marching out of the bar. Kakashi watched him go with surprise - never before had an outing with Gai ended so abruptly and without some form of challenge. 

Realizing he was now drinking alone at the bar, Kakashi quickly downed the rest of his drink, paid, and left. The air was surprisingly cool as he walked towards his apartment and he found himself tugging his scarf more tightly to protect against the wind. He kicked a pebble down the sidewalk as he thought about the events of the last 24 hours.

_ This  _ was why he hadn’t told Tenzo he was back in town two years ago. Tenzo was so pure, so perfect, and Kakashi only served to make him miserable. That’s why he had left the first time, too. Being with Tenzo could only hurt Tenzo.

_ But leaving him hurt him more, _ he thought suddenly. Annoyed with himself for the logical but contradictory thought, he kicked the pebble again, hard, and watched it ricochet off the curb and down the gutter.

Yes, it was undeniable, almost every decision Kakashi had made in regards to Tenzo had been wrong. The manner in which he’d told him he loved him was wrong, leaving him alone was wrong, coming back and not telling him was wrong, and now accusing him of cheating was wrong. 

Before he knew where he’d been going, Kakashi looked up and found himself standing right outside Tenzo’s apartment door. With a heavy sigh, he knocked. 

___

Yamato knew who was at the door before he opened it, but he felt compelled to answer it anyway.

“What do you want?” he spat as soon as the door opened. Kakashi ran his fingers through his hair and sighed. 

“Can we talk?” he said. Yamato scoffed.

“Oh, now you want to talk,” he said. “Well I’ll just tell you what you told me earlier, in that case. I have nothing to say to you.” 

“Then I’ll do the talking,” Kakashi said. “And you can listen.” 

“Or you can do the walking,” Yamato said. “And I can slam the door behind you.” 

“Tenzo, please…”

“Don’t call me that!” Tenzo shouted. “Just, don’t.” Kakashi sighed.

“ _ Yamato _ , then,” he corrected. “Please let me talk to you.” 

A large part of Yamato’s brain wanted to slam the door in Kakashi’s perfect face and go back to moping on the sofa. That’s all he had done since he had gotten home after the basketball game - mope and pout. And feel like an absolute moron. He had been so blinded by happiness at Kakashi’s return that he had somehow forgotten what a complete asshole the man could be. He had forgotten how he had broken Yamato’s heart before, and he had forgotten how he would likely do it again. 

A smaller portion of Yamato’s brain won out.

“Fine,” he said, crossing his arms and leaning against the doorframe. “Talk.” 

“Can I come in?” Kakashi said. Yamato rolled his eyes. “Please? It’s cold.” Yamato sighed and stepped backwards into the apartment, gesturing for Kakashi to enter. Kakashi immediately plopped down onto the couch and rubbed his face in his hands.

“Do you want some water or something?” Yamato asked instinctively, cursing himself for being so polite. Luckily, Kakashi shook his head no. Yamato sat down on the sofa. “Great, so you’re here. What do you want to talk about.” Kakashi sighed.

“Why… do you keep giving me more chances?” he said. “I have never done anything to deserve them.” Yamato scoffed.

“You know, I have been asking myself that very question,” he said. “Why do I keep falling into the same stupid trap? You’d really think I’d have learned by now.” Kakashi chuckled softly.

“For what it’s worth, I’m glad you haven’t,” Kakashi replied. Yamato just stared at him. “I have a bit of a confession, Tenzo. I’m... a complete idiot.” Yamato couldn’t help but smile slightly. “It’s an affliction. I can’t seem to help it. I consistently make the worst possible decisions.”

“So I’ve noticed,” Yamato said, a little softer than before. Kakashi continued with his confession.

“And as if that wasn’t bad enough, I always seem to drag you down with me,” he said. “It’s the Kakashi curse. Everyone I care about gets hurt.”

“It’s more a self fulling prophecy than a curse,” Yamato said. “But go on.” Kakashi sighed.

“Look, you know I suck at explaining things and I never know what to say,” he said. “But what I’m trying to say is, I’m sorry.” Yamato raised one eyebrow.

“For what,” he prompted. Kakashi shrugged. 

“How much time do you have?” he said. Yamato crossed his arms and leaned back, staring down his nose at Kakashi. 

“All night,” he said. Kakashi sighed and started ticking items off on his fingers.

“For taking advantage of you all those years ago, then for leaving. For coming back and not telling you. For deciding to reenter your life on my timeline instead of yours. And for being a jerk earlier today. And, while I’m at it, for not helping in the shop the other day.” Yamato’s brow was furrowed in concern.

“Kakashi, I never once felt like you took advantage of me,” he said. 

“Did… did you hear anything I said after that?” Kakashi said. “I said some other stuff.” Yamato sighed.

“I heard it,” he said. “So now what, you want us to be good again? You want to move forward together and pretend this never happened?” Kakashi tapped his feet restlessly.

“Ideally, yeah,” he said. 

“Because honestly I don’t know,” Yamato said. “I mean, you accused me of cheating, and followed it up by saying you don’t trust me. To be honest, I don’t really want to run in circles with you over and over again.” Kakashi groaned.

“I do trust you,” he said. “I don’t know why I said that. It’s part of the bad decision disease I have.”

“You said there wouldn’t be anymore coming and going, but then at the first sign of trouble your reaction was to run away,” Yamato continued, ignoring Kakashi’s comment. “Not to mention, you jumped to conclusions without even giving me an opportunity to explain myself.” Kakashi stared at the ground. 

“Maybe I should go,” Kakashi said quietly. Yamato groaned in frustration at Kakashi’s immediate instinct to run away again.

“You are so stupid,” he said. “Why are you even here?!” Kakashi stared at him.

“To apologize…” 

“No, Kakashi,” Yamato said, exasperated. “ _ Why are you here?!” _

“Because I’m in love with you,” Kakashi said. 

Yamato felt his heart stop beating as he stared at the man sitting next to him. Kakashi stared back with a look of raw defenselessness in his eyes, as if saying the words had stripped him of some unseen armor that was the only thing keeping him safe. As if Yamato were somehow holding a knife to his throat that Kakashi couldn’t counter. 

It was ironic, really. The knife had always been in Kakashi’s hands before, and he had sliced through Yamato without abandon. But here was Kakashi confessing his love for Yamato - not in the throws of coital bliss, not drunk, and not vaguely insinuating. No, actually  _ truly _ confessing his love for Yamato. And as angry as Yamato had been with Kakashi just seconds before, he couldn’t imagine using this knife to bring any harm to him.

“I love you too,” Yamato said. Kakashi suddenly reached out and pulled Yamato’s head towards his own, bringing him into a kiss that absolutely proved his confession to be true. When he finally pulled away, Yamato was already starting to sweat a little from the heat of their passion.

“So, are we back together?” Kakashi said. Yamato let out a confused laugh.

“What?” he said. “When did we break up?” 

“Well, we got in a fight,” Kakashi said sheepishly. Yamato exhaled sharply.

“You are such an idiot,” he said. “You really thought we were over because of a fight?” 

“I mean... “ Kakashi started, fiddling with the hem of Yamato’s shirt. “Yeah.” Yamato laughed.

“Well, we’re not,” he said. “I’m not letting you get away that easily again.” Kakashi smiled.

“Good, I was getting kind of comfortable,” he joked, running his fingers up and down Yamato’s thigh. “And besides, I really suck at coaching basketball and the kids are going to disown me if I don’t let you help out.” Yamato laughed.

“I see how it is,” he said. 

“Yep,” Kakashi said, leaning forward to run his fingers along Yamato’s arm. “I’m only with you for your coaching skills,  _ Coach Yamato. _ ” He sat back up straight suddenly. “By the way, what’s the deal with that?” 

“With what?” Yamato said. “My name?” Kakashi cocked his head in confusion.

“Tenzo is your name,” he said. 

“No, Tenzo is the name you gave me,” Yamato corrected. “When you left, I changed it. It reminded me too much of you.” Kakashi looked at him sympathetically.

“You know, most people just change their hair or something when they’re going through a mental breakdown, not their whole name,” she said. Yamato laughed.

“I did that, too,” he said, gesturing up at his short hair. 

Kakashi chuckled and scooted towards Yamato to ruffle his hair. Yamato jokingly tried to push him away, so Kakashi settled for wrapping his arms around Yamato’s waist and pulling him onto his lap. 

“You know, I think I figured out why I keep giving you more chances,” Yamato said, pushing a lock of Kakashi’s white hair out of his face. Kakashi hummed in question. “Because no matter what you do, you always make up for it.” Kakashi raised one eyebrow. 

“Well, I guess I need to start making this one up to you,” he said. “Bedroom?” Yamato nodded.

“Bedroom.”


End file.
